Everyday Magic
by Chamofleur
Summary: ..."When I'm with my friends, I'm happy! When I'm with Finny, I'm happy! But...why is it that I get all blushy and stuff when Mr. Wizard talks to me? I should be happy!" A Waku Waku Animal March 'fic. Heroine/Wizard friendship. Complete!
1. Chapter 1

Well, hello again, Harvest Moon fanfiction community! :D Super Grape Pie here with a Waku Waku Animal March fanfic that I hope you'll all like…

Um, just in case you don't know, Waku Waku Animal March is the Harvest Moon game that was recently released in Japan! It's super-fun, too! If you have a Japanese Wii and have a sort-of-okay knowledge of Japanese like I do, I'd say go import it, because it will ROCK YOUR SOCKS because it's like a hundred times the awesomeness of Tree of Tranquility. Yeah. I said it. XD

Aaanyways, this story'll follow the Wizard, one of the new characters introduced in WakuAni, our heroine, Wakuko, and her little harvest sprite sidekick, Fin! (I forget how many times I've had to explain this, but the real name for the main heroine in WakuAni is actually Hikari but I really don't like that name at all—before the game's release, the Japanese fan community had been calling the main girl Wakuko since they weren't sure about her real default name. I liked that quirky little name way better, so I gave 'Wakuko' a quirky little personality when I wrote her, and it stuck! :D)

Also, I'm using Japanese names for the cast in general, so, like…yeah. D:

…I should stop talking now and just let you read. Yeah! I'mma do that!

-But just a little note, Wakuko mentions her parents a lot in the story. It's my crack theory that she's actually Gil and Akari's kid from ToT, so…yeah. It's also the reason why she wears glasses. :P

Enjoy! :3 Reviews are like…super appreciated and I would love you forever if you left one. :D

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**EVERYDAY MAGIC**

Auuuugh, it's so dark outside...I've lived in Castanet Valley for almost a year, now, and yet I'm still not used to waking up at six in the morning! ...My mom would kill me if she were to hear that from her own flesh and blood, though, heehee. As I throw myself out of my polka-dot covers, I rub my eyes; I gotta stay awake today! (I almost fell asleep yesterday at the Tailor Shop when I was talking with Kotomi and Roomi...They had to give me some coffee to wake me up...)

"Waaaaakukoooo~! C'mon, c'mon! It's a beautiful day today~!" a high-pitched voice calls out.

Then again, staying awake kind of shouldn't be a problem with Finny around. Heehee, he's always so cute when he's got that determined little look on his face every morning. Being a Harvest Sprite must be loads of fun~. 'Specially with Finny...he gets to wear these cute little yellow footie pajamas all the time!

"Mmm...Okay, okay..." I tell him drowsily. I'm not really looking forward to today...it's all cold out this time of year, you know? It's that time when it's not really fall anymore, but it's not quite winter yet. I can't help but feel a little sad when days like those come around!

"Yay!" the little guy cheered as he hovered toward the little kitchen in the corner of my run-down house, "You get changed, okay? I'm gonna try to make breakfast today!"

I stopped what I was doing.

"Fin...Um, I dunno if you should cook..." I try to explain to him nicely. I'm not having my little sprite buddy get all burned to a crisp on me, now!

"Aww, please?! All I gotta do is crack an egg on the frying pan and scramble it around a little, right? That's what you do, anyways! A-and I watch you do it all the time!"

"I'm telling you, little guy, if you get burned, the Goddess is gonna kill me..."

"Naw," Finny began, "It should be a-okay! Besides, you're always burning stuff when you cook, so I want to make today's breakfast unburned!"

...Gee, Fin, thanks for totally encouraging my cooking skill right there.

"Okay, okay..." I say, shrugging, "Just stop giving me those cute little sprite-eyes of yours, will you?"

"Heehee, okay! Off I go~!" Aaaand...off he goes, fluttering over to the kitchen. Guess that's my cue to get out of my jammies, huh? Off to the clothes drawer with me...

Uhh, let's see what's in here...Oh! Geez, I need to get to do my wash...there's hardly anything in here! Just that pretty red Gothic Lolita dress I bought at the tailor shop forever ago. I hope it still fits me...

Okay, sleeves on, aaaannd...head through! Yay, I still fit in this! Ooh, and it's all cozy on the inside! I need to wear this more often...I think it's warmer than my usual winter jacket.

"Okay, Wakuko, I'm almost done!" Fin cries out across the room.

"A-already?! You sure you're cooking everything through, Finny...?" I ask as I scratch my head.

"Yes, ma'am! I even checked it, too!"

...Note to self: make Fin cook more often.

Before I forget, I gotta slip on my glasses before I eat, or I'm gonna forget 'em. They're really nice glasses, too! I've always had this one pair since I was a kid, but recently Pat gave me her old red frames! And they're really awesome! I always keep them on the windowsill by my bed so I don't forget them, now, but I end up leaving them behind a lot, anyway...And then I trip and fall all the time because I can't see anything. But, um, I guess that's my fault, huh?

As soon as I sit down at the table, Fin carefully drags a plate full of scrambled eggs and some silverware to my usual place at the table. Sometimes I wonder how he carries that much.

"All righty, Wakuko! Eat up; you're gonna need your strength today!"

"Um, thanks!" I say as I grab a fork and start eating, "But how come you're being so nice today?"

"Who, me?" Finny asks, smiling his usual adorable smile, "I dunno! I just have this feeling that you're just gonna need lots of brain food and stuff today!"

I pat him on the head gently and thank him. He's always a bright ray of sunshine, that Fin; I can talk to him about lots of things, and we help each other out like a family! He's like the little brother I never had! Um, well, except he's small...and...fairy-like...

"You know," I begin as Fin takes a little spoonful of egg from my plate, "I've been thinking."

"Ooh! About what?"

"Ah, um...I don't really know, exactly. Promise you won't tell anyone or anything, Finny...?"

Finny chuckles, "Of course not, silly! Sprites' honor!"

"Oh, neat! Okay...um, well, you know how when we always go into Harmonica Town every day, you keep telling me to visit the Wizard--and then I don't?"

"Ooh! Yeah!" Finny nods vehemently as he says that, but pouts a little, "Why do you do that, Wakuko...?"

"Well, why do _you_?"

"Um...Oh! I know! 'Cause, um, when we visited him in the summer, you were always really happy to talk to him! And then you always looked really silly when we left 'cause your face was all red!"

"O-oh," is all I can say. I think I'm blushing right now...Stupid Fin and his...um...stupid-ness.

"But it wasn't just for me to laugh at your silly red face or anything, you know!" Oh, sure, Fin, you say that now, but I know what you're really thinking, you silly goose.

"Then...what?" I ask as I tilt my head a little to the side.

"Because you were happy! That's the keyword! When you're with friends, you're always really happy, Wakuko! Um, the Goddess would always say...'Happiness brings prosperity, company, and community!' Er, wait, was that it...?" I think he trailed off, but by the time he was too quiet to hear, I butted in.

"I dunno, Fin, that Wizard's a little scary...I don't think he even considers me as a friend. I don't even know if he even considers _anyone_ a friend! I mean, even Roomi and Mai told me to stay away from his house because when he's not telling fortunes, he's actually--"

"You're silly, Wakuko! You shouldn't just believe what everyone else is saying~. You have to have your own thoughts of stuff, too! If people told you everything, you'd probably end up being back trapped in your old home!"

Whenever I try to even remember my old home, my head hurts...Mommy was just crazy, back at home, but Daddy was the exact opposite...sometimes it's hard to remember them both. But I dunno if Finny's right about what he's saying; Daddy would've kicked me outta the house if I got too old, anyways.

"So you're saying you want me to go and visit him?" I ask, furrowing my brow a little.

Jackpot.

"Yay, you got it!" Finny claps, "Can we go, pleeaaaasssee? It makes me happy to see you all happy like that!"

"Um, I'm still not sure if--"

"If you go, I can make hot cocoa when we get home~."

Ooh, dang, he got me there...As I take my last bite of my breakfast, I can say only this:

"Heat the coffee pot up while I go feed the animals and stuff, Finny...I guess we should at least bring him a gift or something if we're gonna just come in uninvited."

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So! Once my morning stretches were out of the way, I rush out the door--AAUUGH, HOLY HARVEST GODDESSS, IT'S FREEZING OUT HERE! Must...run...to barn...before...I freeze to death...

Whew, okay, it's a little warmer in here. Albeit a little smelly, but, um, beggars can't be choosers, right?

"All righty, guys!" I cheer to my animals as they stare at me as though I were out of my mind, "Who's up for a great day today?!"

...No answer.

"Okay...um, how about some breakfast, then?"

The cows moo, the goats bleat, yadda yadda yadda.

...I think my animals only love me 'cause I feed them. I have this weird feeling they'd totally team up to kick my butt if I didn't. (I _guess_ I don't blame them...)

Okay, done with that! Off to the chicken coop!

Augh, coldcoldcold....I really want it to be Spring agaaaaiiiin, gosh darn it!

Oookay, I'm in--ooh, hey, the chickens are still sleeping, sweet! They're always making a huge fuss whenever I take their eggs, so I can _finally_ just take the stupid eggs in peace without a fight, thank the Goddess...

Let's see~. One, two, three, aaaannnd, four! Okay!

...Ack, now I gotta do all that crop watering...

Oh, you know what?! Screw it; I'll do it when it's warmer out today. I'm not standing out there in the cold with some water that's gonna end up freezing before it reaches the soil, anyway...

Out of the chicken coop I go, and at the most perfect time, too! Fin's already out, holding a little tiny mug of coffee with all of his strength, the poor thing...I guess I should just run and take it before he drops it.

"Waaakkkuuukooo! C'mon, this is really heavy coffee..."

I start running faster, I get this feeling that if I don't, Finny's gonna end up dropping it even faster.

Whew, got it! AUGH, GEEZ, THIS IS HOT! Oww...I, uh...need to go to the clinic after I visit the Wizard...I think I just got, like...second degree burns.

But, hey, at least the hot coffee in my hands just makes me run faster towards Harmonica Town.

"Let's go, Finny!" I yell back as I run towards the path to town, "If we don't get there soon enough, my _burns_ are gonna have burns!"

"Okaaaaayyy!" he seems to yell as he tries to flutter his way to catch up to me. I kinda wish he could fly a little faster sometimes.

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Aaah, Harmonica Town~. The sea breeze, the colorful buildings, the friendly atmosphere...Dang, I could make an advertisement about this place! Too bad Mayor Herbal's not hiring right now...

As Fin catches up to me, I can somehow stuff the coffee in a slot on my secret tool belt while he does. I shake my hands out a little...Never ever touch a cup of steaming coffee, _ever_. It's like manslaughter for your hands...

"So," I begin, "Um, which way do we go to get to the Wizard's place, anyways?"

Fin stares at me a little and asks, "You really don't remember?!"

"Wait, um, maybe I do..."

C'mon...sense of direction. Help out poor Wakuko for a change...Think, think~

"Er, no, never mind. My mind went kinda blank."

"Well, um, let's see..." Fin says to himself as he takes a thorough look at Harmonica Town. He checks around Flute Tailoring, nope, not there; Armonica Bar? Nuh-uh, not there, he just moved his gaze to Harp Clinic. Then a little bit upwards to the Water Cave, and...

"Aha! Found it!" he cheers, "It's nestled right at the top left corner of town, remember?"

"Ohh, yeah! Gotcha!" I say as I have one of those, uh...what are they called...epiphanies? Yeah, those! Well, after I had one of those, the two of us ran up the main road in town. It's really cool, you know! That road connects to everything! (Apparently even the Wizard's house!) It's also a really fun road to run up!

...Though, um, it's not quite fun when you trip yourself and fall flat on the road like I just did...Ouch...Urgh, I hope my glasses didn't break...

"Waaahh!" I hear little Fin cry as I try getting up, "Wakuko, are you okay?!" Though I was still really out of it, I managed a nod and slowly tried to get myself up. Oh, geez, I hope nobody saw me face plant...

"Wakuko! You all right over there?"

Ohh, Goddess, I _knew_ it was gonna get worse! Then again, it's all right, I guess; it's my buddy Cathy calling out behind me! She's really patient, so she's always kinda nice to me even if I accidentally chew her ear off with all of the weird farm-type stories I tell her at the Armonica Bar...(She's a waitress there, you know!)

"Oh, um, yeah!" I say as I turn around to greet the blonde with a thumbs-up, "No bruises or anything, as far as I can tell!"

"Good to hear!" she smiles, "But what's the big hurry? You ran into town so fast, it almost looked like something was chasing you!"

I chuckle, "Heehee, naw...If I were being chased by someone, I'd be all screaming and stuff...Oh! But, um, what brings you out and about town so early, anyways? I usually don't see anyone around town at this hour."

Fin sighs as soon as I ask; I think he knew that I was sorta kinda stalling in the back of my mind.

"Oh, me?" she asks, pointing to herself for emphasis, I guess, "It's Ose again. He's been challenging me for another horse race."

"Ohh, but you're gonna win!" I cheer, "You'll beat Ose to a pulp!" Cathy shrugs a little and explains as I listen intently:

"I dunno about that...He may be hard to beat from what Leena's been telling me; apparently he's been practicing all season just to train his horse to beat mine."

"Whoa!" I say, a little astonished, "Isn't that kinda much, though? I mean, it's not like you guys are racing for a prize, right?"

"Yeah," Cathy nods, "I dunno what the heck he's trying to prove..."

There was a silence for a few seconds, but then Cathy spoke up again:

"By the way, where were you headed?"

"Oh, me?" I ask, pointing to myself like Cathy did. I think she chuckled when she realized I was accidentally mimicking her, "Um, well, I was actually gonna go to the wizard's house, to, um..."

When I trailed off, Cathy tried to finish the sentence for me as she said, "To get your fortune told, right?"

"Um, sure!" I smiled, "Let's go with that!" My buddy looked a little concerned when I said that...I think she was gonna say something else, but before she could, we start to hear these really heavy footsteps coming from the top of the road! It's Ose, of course! As he runs down the road and passes Cathy and me, he yells only one thing:

"C'mon, Cathy! Race you to Caval Meadow!"

Heehee, Cathy looks really silly when she hears that; her face gets all red as she says, "Why, you...! C'mere and say that, you cheater! You got a head start!"

She runs off to go and catch him, she tells me, and waves goodbye to me while she dashes off to chase after the big guy. I sure hope she wins that race...

"Wakuko!" I hear Fin say; he already flitted up ahead of me while I wasn't looking! "C'mon! We should get going, too!"

I sigh quietly to myself, but I slowly walk towards Fin as he begins to hover towards the dead end where the Wizard's house is...When we get closer, my heartbeat kinda speeds up and I feel really lightheaded...

It's so weird how I feel like I'm gonna get sick every time I come here; It's been going since this summer! Maybe it's like...one of the Wizard's magic spells to keep people away from his house...But then again, if I don't go in, Finny's gonna get kinda mad at me, huh?

"Here we are~!" Fin yelps happily as we finally make it to the little black door with the tiny black star sign above the door...Yeah, this is definitely it...I'm, uh, gonna go in now, I guess...One little step at a time, there...Almost got my hand on the door, I think...!

"Well, Wakuko? Are we going in or not? You're just standing there, silly!"

"Shush!" I told the little guy, "I'm, um...almost there!"

Okay, _fine_, I'll open the door...Uahh, my chest is hurting a little from all of this adrenaline!

Gulp...Okay, here goes...I'm turning the knob, aaannnd...Oh, hey, it's fully open! I guess I should, uh, go in, right? That's usually what people do when they open doors, I'm pretty sure. Yup, in I go...!

Oh! It's a little dark in here compared to most of the other places in town...But it smells really nice in here today for some reason! Like jasmine tea! Ooh, I love that kind! Anyways, I guess I'd better close the door...slowly...so he doesn't notice...

Phew, okay, I'm in! Now all I gotta do is--

"...Who's there...?" I hear a kind of deep (not to mention kind of scary!) voice ask from around the big white telescope in the house. I knew it was the Wizard, but I couldn't help but jump.

"U-uaaahh!" I yelped. I think I was saying things faster and faster along with my heart rate, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to barge inoranythingIjust--"

"...Hmm?" the wizard turned to see wimpy little me, clutching the doorknob for dear life. There's a smug little smile on that cute little face of Fin's...I know he wants to laugh at me again, as usual...

"Um, sorry for just barging in..." I begin, trying to regain my composure, "Well, um, it's me. Wakuko."

For a few seconds, the Wizard just stood by the telescope, staring me right in the eye...It was a little uncomfortable, but, um, I try to let go of the doorknob so he didn't think I was crazy.

When he finally comes down the stairs, he takes one last stare at me with that creepy yellow eye of his, almost like he wants to make sure I am who I am.

"Ah...it's you..." he says with kind of a gentler voice, "It's...been a while since I've seen you..."

"Yeah," I try to say without flinching or anything that would tell him I was scared, "I, uh...I would have come here sooner, but, ah, I've been kind of occupied with the farm this season. Lots of crops in fall!"

"Yes..." he nods cordially, (how gentlemanly!)"...I've heard that crops are plentiful...in fall...You must have...been very busy."

"Heehee, a little!" I laugh a little, thinking that it might kill my nerves, "But Fall crops are great and stuff! In fact, um...I grow some coffee beans on my farm! They don't grow very fast, but, ah..."

I reach into my secret belt compartment and take out the little mug of coffee, still packed up and warm from this morning.

"He-Here you go!" I say, slowly handing him the mug, "I made it fresh this morning! So, um, I hope you enjoy it..." (U-uahh! I think I'm blushing! Oh, Goddess, I must be crazy or sick or something!)

He takes the mug with care, but then looks back up at me and smiles kindly...His smile's so calm...It reminds me of--Whoa, wait a sec! This guy can smile?!

"Ah...T-this is...wonderful...T-Thank you..." He's practically astonished with happiness by the little mug! Wow! I guess he really likes coffee~! (I don't blame him; it's good for when you're staying up late to do some late-night planting! Or, uh, in his case, studying, I guess?)

"Oh, no problem at all!" I smile; his smile is kind of welcoming, so it makes me feel a little better and calms my crazy-fast heartbeat down to just regular-fast, "I remember you mentioning you stayed up late studying a lot, so I figured you could use it!"

"Yes..." he nods in agreement, "It's a little bit of a nuisance, trying to find these for sale...Especially when it's out of season..."

"Really?" I ask, (seriously, I didn't know! I grow all of this stuff, too...), "They never tell me any of that stuff when I ship it! I guess that's why I get a lot of money when I sell it..."

He nods quietly again, but this time it's kind of dismal. Aww, man! I liked it better when he was happy...Maybe I'll, um...give him coffee every day. Y-yeah! I could do that! Maybe, that way, he'd always be happy!

Er, then again, that's kind of weird. I'd be like a milkmaid. Except with coffee. Ew. Then again...Oh, heck, I'd better just ask to get it over with.

"Um, if you like it so much..." I begin, failing miserably at making contact with those different colored eyes, "I could make you some and bring it to you when the beans are ready, if you'd like! Oh! I mean, uh, if that's okay...I don't wanna seem like...weird, or anything."

Ohh, geez, that was bad. That was so bad...I think I'm feeling my self-esteem take a huge nosedive...Auuugh, Goddess, _why_ did Fin drag me into this?!

"Y-you would...do that...for me...?" I hear him ask real quiet-like. His eyes get kind of wide...

"Er, sure thing!" I nod, but try to add something in, "We coffee lovers gotta stick together, right?"

...Wait, _what_ did I just say?! Holy cow pies, I'm sucking at this whole conversation thing!

"Yes...I suppose so..." he agrees, smiling a little (yay!), "You...ah..." I think he was gonna say something, but he kind of trailed off; his eyes moved more to the side of the room. But I understand completely and stuff! Making eye contact is really hard sometimes...

"Hmm?" I tilt my head, "Were you gonna say something, Mr. Wizard?"

He looks me back in the eyes, "You're...very kind to me, Wakuko..."

Er, uh...oh. That was, um, nice of him...I think--AUGH, MY FACE IS GETTING RED! I can just feel it...Fin's staring at me and everything. Why is it that I blush at every little thing he says to me?!

"Psst! Wakuko!" I hear little Finny whisper through tiny chuckles, unheard and unseen by the Wizard, "Say 'thank you'!"

"Um, thank you!" I manage to throw out even though my mind was totally jumbled, "I, uh...you're, um, really nice, too, you know!"

...I need to tape my mouth shut when I get home...I...I don't deserve to talk anymo--Whoa, wait a sec! Um, I think the Wizard's blushing...Augh, no! That's _bad_! I didn't mean to do that! I, um...Ohhh, geez...

"...Not really...I...don't think I'm a very kind person..." he says, but he's still blushing a little. He shouldn't think that!

"Well, um, you should!" I said, coming off kinda forceful at first, but added, "Er, I mean...You shouldn't think that you're not a nice person! In fact, you're a really great person! Um, because...you tell fortunes to everyone~! And everyone in town is always glad you're here to tell them! Uh...you know?"

It takes him time to process what I said...Actually, I'm kind of processing it, too...uh, I didn't say anything stupid, did I? Finally, he looks me back in the eye, and, all of sudden, he's chuckling! Whoa! ...Where'd that come from?

"...You're a little strange...sometimes..." he says, still chuckling a little, "But...I think that's good..."

"Heehee," I laugh, "Yeah, I get that a lot!" ...Okay, sure, I'm laughing and all, but I'm also totally spazzing out on the inside because I...uh, I'm not really sure which way I should take the whole 'being strange' thing...

"Wakuko...Would it be all right if you stayed...for tea?"

Oh, phew! I think that means I'm good~. (And hooray, tea time! I sure hope he has that nice-smelling jasmine tea still around!)

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...Okay, so it was actually jasmine _green_ tea. But I was close, you know! And I don't even specialize in tea or anything, so take _that_!

Oh! But, um, yeah, back to the matter at hand and stuff.

The Wizard's actually a really neat person! He tells me all of this neat stuff that he learns! He knows all kinds of languages, and studies all kinds of really hard subjects like physics and astronomy and even silly stuff like botany! (That's kind of unexpected...) He never told me any of this stuff when I went to visit him back in the summer...

He has this whole library of different books, too! I was really amazed by how many old books there were! Some were fantasy, some were nonfiction, some were ginormous textbooks that I could hardly hold, and some were about ancient civilizations, even! (I wonder if Mr. Calvin would like those...) Mr. Wizard says he's read a good chunk of them, too! I told him that was really amazing; there must be like...over a thousand books in there! Finny was really impressed, too! (Mr. Wizard got all embarrassed, though; he told me it wasn't really a huge deal, but, uh, if I could read, like...at least a hundred ginormous books in my lifetime I'd be proud, so...)

I slurp my last little bit of tea as Mr. Wizard skims the contents of his super-huge bookshelf. I wonder what he's looking for...

Before I try to ask, though, he turns his sights from the bookshelf to me and the now empty teacup.

"...Would you like any more...?"

...I was aiming for six cups today, but, uh, I guess I'll curb it at four today... (Best tea ever, by the way!)

"Nah, I'm good~!" I say, smiling, "Thanks, though! It was really _really_ good!"

He nods and turns back to the bookshelf, "...I'm...glad you like it..." I ask him if I should put our empty mugs somewhere, but he just says he'll take care of it once I'm gone. (I guess that's good, though; Finny was taking a liking to using the little saucer as a warm little pillow for himself.) I dunno what the point of waiting 'till we're gone is, but maybe it's one of those silly habits. Everyone has 'em, though, so it's normal, I think!

All of a sudden, though, through the sounds of scrambling through books, I hear the Wizard ask, "...Wakuko...do you...have a favorite book?"

Ooh, neato! I like where this is going!

"Well, sure!" I begin to explain, "It's this fantasy novel called 'The Magic Ring of Light'! ...Er, I think that's what it was called. I read it when I was really little; my daddy gave it to me for my eighth birthday~." Yeah, um, I guess he could have been spared the details, but they kinda just come out when I talk about stuff that has history to me! Y'know?

The Wizard kind of turns and looks at me for a second; he stops what he's doing when he hears the book title.

"...You...you read that book...as a child?" he asks.

"Uh-huh! It was really great! Have you read it, by chance, Mr. Wizard?"

He turns and smiles, (hooray!), "...Th-that's my favorite book..."

Whoa! Uncanny stuff right there!

"R-really?!" I ask; my heart rate's kind of speeding up again, "I'm so glad I found someone else who likes it! Whenever I used to talk about it, my friend Van would tell me that fiction was silly, though...But he was more of a nonfiction guy, I think~.

"...I'm surprised...Most children...wouldn't be able to comprehend such a book..."

"Yup! I was a smarty-pants back when I was a kid~." I boast a little, pushing my glasses up for emphasis. Heehee, not many people know it, but I'm kinda geeky...Books are my favorite thing in the world! (Next to tea and pajamas, anyways!)

"You know..." the Wizard begins, "...Even though the book was written over eighty years ago...The author's daughter...recently wrote a sequel to the story...It was very well-written, as well..."

I gasped. My favorite book in the entire world had a _sequel_?! And I didn't even know it?! ...Geez, I'm really out with the times, huh?

"N-no way!" I cry, (careful, I think my inner geek is showing...), "I'd only heard rumors about a sequel being in the works when I was little, but...!"

"...Yes," the Wizard nods, "It's called 'Open the Door of Light'..."

"Oh, wow! That's amazing!" I say with geeky wonder, "I really need to see if I can find that book...There isn't really much of a library here like there was at home, so it'll be kind of hard to find it, but--"

"...I have the book...if you'd like to--"

"You do?!" As soon as I say that, I practically jump out of my chair. I think I may have scared the Wizard a little in the process...

"A-ah...yes..." he nods, a bit frightened, "If you'd like...I can let you borrow it..."

I think my jaw could reach the floor from the sheer happiness of hearing that...

"Y-You'd really let me borrow it?! For serious, Mr. Wizard?!"

He nods to me and tells me he's going to try to find the book. I jump for joy (He probably thinks I'm some crazy loser...) and I wait patiently as he searches. As he does, I try to wake Finny up from his little nap on the saucer; he asks me how everything went. I figure I would just tell him about the highs of everything so he'd be happy. (He's adorable when he's happy, little Finny~.)

When he finally finds the book, I'm in awe at even the cover: it's a simple purple cover, yeah, but it has the same ring of light that was illustrated on the cover of the first book, along with a door made of light inside the ring. Just the sight of that little cover brought back all of these memories of my daddy reading the book to me before bedtime...

Before I get totally wrapped up in my own silly memories, though, I throw myself back into the present as the Wizard carefully hands the book to me; it must be really special to him, too!

"Please..." he began, "...Take good care of this book, if you can...It's...very special to me..." Just then I kinda felt this wave of responsibility go over me; I gotta get this thing back safe and sound!

"I promise I will!" I cheer, "Heehee, I have a feeling I might even get this whole thing done by tomorrow...This author's writing style just keeps you reading until the end!"

The Wizard nods and smiles a bit in agreement as I place the book carefully in my rucksack where it'll stay safe. After a few more last-minute chats, I realize it's almost ten o' clock! (Ehe...I'm prone to losing track of the time...) I politely let him know that I wanted to water my crops later in the day and do some errands before sundown. He understands; he says he's got stuff he wants to do, too! (...Wait, really? But he's in his house all day!)

Before Fin and I leave, though, I'm surprised to hear Mr. Wizard say something more after we say our goodbyes.

"...Wakuko..." he begins, "If it's all right...would you...be able to come back tomorrow...?"

...My chest feels like it's all stuffed with butterflies when he says that...Probably just the caffeine from the tea.

"Sure, I'd love to!" I agree, beaming, "That's what friends are for, right?"

He tilts his head a little, "...Friends...?"

Oh, _nuh-uh_. He didn't just say that, did he?! A-auugh! Maybe I shouldn't have said that...After all, I mean, maybe we're only just acquaintances! Er, wait, no, isn't that for someone you hardly know? I don't hardly know him! I mean, er, I dunno, maybe I do, b-but...

"Er, you know!" I try to spit out, "Um, like buddies! Friends 'till the end! ...That kind of thing..."

Er, okay, now I'm just embarrassing myself...

"...I see..." he ponders carefully as he says this, "Then I suppose so...that's...what friends are for..."

W-wait, he just said that? He's my friend!? ...He's _my_ friend! I'm _his_ friend! We're _both _friends! Best buddies! Yayy! I'm so glad...For a while I thought he thought I was just some silly farmer...

...Wait a second...Why does that matter, anyways?! I'm so silly...Even the slightest thing like making a new friend shouldn't make my face all red!

A-anyways! I leave the house after we say our goodbyes (again), and when Fin and I finally get out, we're glad to see the bright end-of-autumn sun back out today! And the nice thing is that there's not a cloud in the sky, so it got a little warmer from this morning, yay!

"Well, Wakuko," Fin asks in his usual high-pitched question tone, "Where to next?"

I think about it for a while, and I can only think of one thing right now:

"All righty, Finny! We're off to water some crops and read that book! You with me?!" I ask energetically.

...Okay, _fine_, two things.

"Yayyyy! Off we go!" Fin cries happily, but slyly adds in, "I told you you'd be happy, Wakuko!"

I just run back towards Caval Meadow as Fin trails behind me.

...Since I'm in a good mood, I guess I can let that slide, Fin~.

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Well, that was chapter one! I do hope you all enjoyed the first part of the 'fic! I'll try to post the second part as soon as I can~! (This story was originally meant to be a oneshot for the Ushi no Tane fan community, but it ended up being like…40 pages total and was like an eight-shot on the forums there. But it'll be a three-shot here once I edit it, I guess…? o.o )

Anyways! Didja like the story? Hate it? Thought it was okay? Have some critique for yours truly? (Which I would eternally appreciate you for, by the way!) Then let me know in a review! They really make my day, and if I'm actually not being lazy I'll try to do my best to reply if your review is awesome enough!

Thank you so much for reading, and I hope to see you again for chapter two! :D

-SGP


	2. Chapter 2

Whew! Chapter 2's finally formatted and here! Sorry for the wait, everyone! Midterm week is a killer…But I'm all done now, so it's all good!

But enough about stuff that has to do with me, um, you've got a chapter to read! :D (Well, you know, if you want to read it. XD)

Oh! But before I do, I'mma try to respond to some of you awesome reviewers out there! Here we go! :D (Um, I haven't done this in a while, so bear with me if these responses suck. D:

To **Ameryu - **Yeah, I knew their real names to begin with, but like I said, I found Hikari really generic, so I was like, "YOU CAN'T MAKE ME USE YOU, NAME!" So yeah. XD As for Mr. Wizard's real name, you don't find out until after him and the protagonist get married in-game, so Wakuko wouldn't know at this point in time! :3 (Though he tries to tell you during his confession...Then he ends up not telling you and waiting until you marry him. XD) But thank you so much for your review! :D

To **ReadinWriter** - Yayyy! Thank you so much! :D Even though I have the Japanese version, I really want the game to come out here, too! My Japanese is really bad, so I only get the general gist of what's going on when I read at a normal pace--when I tried translating the Wizard's lines word-for-word, just 1 line took me, like...5 minutes to get. (But I think the game should at least be announced soon...I mean, Natsume doesn't have too many choices if they're going to translate at least 2 or 3 HM games this year...and the next ones on the to-be-translated list are KiraNaka, WakuAni, and Wind Bazaar, so I think there might be a chance this year! :D)

To **Everyone -** You guys are all awesome for reading this! :3 I'm really glad you all like Wakuko's POV--I really tried to make sure she strayed from the usual 'mary-sue'-type HM fanfic protagonist, for lack of a better term. I, uh...hope all that worked out okay in the end. D:

Anyways! Please enjoy chapter 2! This was probably the most time-consuming part of the story, so I hope it shows! :D (In the good way, I mean!)

* * *

Oooowww...My arms are killing me...Um, no, scratch that, actually; my whole body's killing me.

Look, watering a ginormous field manually is NOT easy, okay?! You wanna try it? ...No? You city kids are all lazy these days~. But, uh, if you ever want to try, you know...just head on down to Caval Meadow and look for a sign that says "Lute Farm". You'll find me there! ...Well, I mean, if I'm home.

Aaaaanyways, yeah, I should go take a dip in the hot spring~. It's so nice how it's right behind my barn, too! I can just sit there, and since it's really obscured by trees and stuff, I can just grab a towel and jump on in without being embarrassed! It's great! In fact...

"Cannonbaaaaalllll~!" I yell out to no one in particular as I throw off my stuff, put it aside, slip a towel on, and jump! Splash~! OH, SH--I SHOULD NOT HAVE DONE THAT. Oww...my skin is burning...And my hands were already burnt to begin with from that silly coffee...

Finny can tell I'm about to scream from the positively red look of sheer horror on my face. He just sort of looks at me in the face for a bit until finally he asks,

"...Wakuko, um...are you gonna be okay in there?"

"Uh...Y-y-yeah..." I try to feign being okay for the little guy; if he sees any bit of pain on me, he gets all weepy and says it's his fault! ...And then I get all weepy because he's all weepy. And then we're both weepy together...And it's really embarrassing, 'specially when I'm in public...Since only I can see Fin, it's kinda hard to console him when everyone's watching me talk to what they think is nothing! They'd like...put me in the crazy house for that!

"That's good, then!" Finny begins, "I think I might just sit on that little rock by the water...You know, it's really neat when the rocks are warm because of the water! It's like magic!"

"Sounds neat!" I reply happily once I finally get used to the scalding hot water (it's really HOT!), "I'd do that, but, um, I'm kinda big..."

I can tell Finny's really enjoying himself when he sits down on that rock, though. He's all, "Aaahh~! This is so nice! It's like a dream!" Even cute little Harvest Sprites have to relax once in a while, I guess! I just hope he doesn't burn himself on that thing...He's only got one little pair of sprite pajamas, you know, and I'm not sewing him a new one if he burns his or something!

"...Hey, Wakuko!" Finny looks at me a few minutes later. He almost looks sorta sad...

"Hmm?"

"Do you, um..._like_...the Wizard?" my little sprite buddy asks, putting emphasis on that 'like'.

"Huh?" I ask, kind of dumbfounded, "you mean, like, are we friends and stuff? 'Cause if that's the case, then yeah! We're buddies now! And it's all thanks to you, Finny!"

"Uh, no, that's not what I meant..."

...Well, what _does_ he mean?! You can't get any higher than bestest buddies! ...That's what my mom told me, anyways...

"Er, I don't really get it..." I tell him, raising up my hands from the water to shrug.

"You know!" Fin starts to say, "Um...like..._like_ like."

...Like like? Er, what's that, now? Kinda sounds like some kind of tube monster that'll suck you into its slimy mouth or someth--ooh, no, bad mind! I need to stop reading so many fantasy books...

"Finny, I dunno what the heck you're talking about..." I tell him honestly. I'm pretty sure he's trying to ask if the Wizard's my bestest buddy, but, uh, I dunno if we've reached 'bestest' status yet. Er, um, at least, I haven't!

"O-oh...Really?" he begins, "The Goddess says everyone knows about _that_..."

"About _what_?!" I ask again, kind of frustrated. Seriously, the little guy needs to stop beating around the bush!

"Um...never mind! Maybe that was the wrong thing to ask..."

"Dude, Finny, you'd better just tell me!" Out of frustration, I just kind of jumped up from where I was sitting in the spring! Er, except...

My towel...kind of...doesn't come up with me...Finny's face gets all red as he covers his eyes with his little hands.

"Uaaaahhhh!" He wails, "Put it back on, put it back on!"

"O-okay, okay! S-sorry...It just kinda happened," I explain as I take the warm, wet (ew.) towel out of the water and back around my body. (Brr! I forgot how cold it is out here...!)

"All righty," I begin as I grab all of the clothes I threw on the ground earlier, "I'm good~. You can open your eyes, now."

Finny flinches for a bit, but slowly opens his eyes as though he were waiting for the worst. (Geez, I'm not _that_ scary, am I?!) He sighs when he sees the towel back on.

"O-okay...um, can we go back in now, Wakuko?" he asks with a red face, "I-I'm getting kinda chilly..."

"Sure thing!" I tell him, remembering I had a book to read, "Turn around; I'll be ready in a bit, okay? When we get in, I'mma start reading!"

"Ohh!" he cheers, "Okay! I can make that hot chocolate, then! We can have a book party!"

...Whoa, Finny, that's actually a good idea!

"Yay!" I reply, "It'll be great! I'll read to you and everything!"

He cheers again; as I put my top back on, he says he's going to start heading in to boil the milk...I never knew Finny was such an eager little chef. I wonder if he, like...secretly wants to cook for all his little sprite brothers and sisters or something? Aw, that'd be so cute! Sure, Aran might be the Fire Sprite, and Edge might be the Heart Sprite, but Finny's cool 'cause he'd be the Cooking Sprite! Heehee, I have to ask him how he'd like that, if I ever get to actually remembering...

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Aaah, man, going in the house feels so good on a chilly day like this~. It's warm and cozy, the smell of hot cocoa wafts through the air...Geez, you can't get any better than that! I'd like to see someone try, actually~. Er, wait, no. 'Cause then we'd have a competition. My mommy always said unnecessary competition is bad; it only causes you stress in the end!

"Finny~!" I call out, "Lemme know when the cocoa's ready! I'm gonna change into my jammies."

He nods his head (or at least, I think he did...he could have just been adjusting that silly little hat of his, for all I know...) while I run to my little cabinet and grab the first pair of jammies I find: it's my favorite pair, surprisingly! It's an old pair of my mom's, actually...It's light green with little dark green stars and moons on it. It's all fuzzy on the inside, too...Ack, why keep talking about how awesome it is if I'm not wearing it? On it goes~!

Aaaaaannnd...one more button...there we go! All done! Now, off to check on that cocoa...

...Oh, whoa! Finny's already got it on the table, surprisingly...It'd take me another half an hour if I were doing the cooking...I'd probably end up putting something dumb like an old tomato in there without thinking. I skip to the big wooden table, with my little purple book in hand, eager to read. When I sit down, Finny tries to grab a tiny pillow from my old couch and throws it on the table to he can lie down while I read.

Once he cuddles up in the little pink pillow and has his tiny cup of cocoa on the side, he cries, "Okay! All ready!"

"All righty!" I begin, stopping to take a sip of the warm cocoa, "Are you ready for the most amazing book ever, Finny?"

"Yes, ma'am!" he claps. I chuckle a little as I open the fragile purple cover. There's publication information and all that stuff on the front page (boring stuff right there~.) Though it's actually kind of interesting how the book was only published recently, maybe twenty or thirty years ago, I tell to Finny. As I turn the page, I'm surprised to actually see a dedication page in here with a picture! (They didn't have one of those in the first book...) I read it aloud to the little sprite:

_"To my son, Gale, who inspired me with the continuation of this series through his many different gifts. I thank him from the bottom of my heart and give him all the love a mother could ever give."_ There's a picture below the dedication, too, of a little boy of about ten or eleven. The sepia tones of the picture kinda make it hard to determine the colors, but it was a picture of a cute little blonde kid on a swing, smiling a kind of soft-looking smile.

"That's a silly name for a boy!" Fin laughs. Yeah, I kinda gotta agree with him, there. Who the heck names their kid _Gale_, of all things? Then again, I guess it is kinda pretty...In fact, that kid...He looks, like...

..._Really_ familiar. Oh, well, though! No need to think to hard about stuff I can't remember, right? Off to reading! Oh, _boy_, this is so exciting! After all this time, I finally get to read this book! I'm in such awe that I can't even turn the page! O-oh, but, uh, I probably should. Finny's staring at me like I'm crazy or something. When the page turns, I see a big number one on the next page for the first chapter. I start:

_"In the far off land of Tiat, in the vast and silent deserts of Nogh, a sudden cry had been heard that broke the hundred year silence._

_They say, in small towns, the Deity of the Desert, with the deep red eyes and hair like the very sands of the desert, had been killed on that day. The people of Tiat did not falter or mourn, however. The prophecy, as well as well-known Oracles, had told them this would be so, even after the deity's power had been restored so many decades ago..."_

"...Holy whoa!"

"...What is it, Wakuko?"

"They spend all that time saving the Deity of the Desert in the first book, and now all of a sudden he's dead?! Geez, that's like... some serious foreshadowing right there or something...But I hope he's still alive...This is getting good way too fast! I wish Daddy was here to read this!" I almost just want to stop reading aloud so I can get through faster, but I know Fin would be upset at me, so I kept going.

_"...It was said that even in the far off city of Liath, where the souls of the Heroes had been laid to rest so many years ago, the cry had been heard. Some Oracles in Liath, however, found that cry as one of destruction. Is there a problem arising in the land of Nogh, they wondered? Could it perhaps be a sign of the world's end? It had been possible to the citizens of this land; their belief in the end of the world would begin by the event known as the Slaying of the Deities..."_

...For hours, I read the book to Fin, and his eyes never wander anywhere else once! (Phew! I was afraid he would fall asleep or something!) We read of the New Heroes, the descendants of the Old Heroes. When the two souls of Old and New combined, they became knowledgeable about the rebirth of their land, and how they would stop the Slaying. They would have to, as the title said, open the Door of Light, a now-sealed gateway in which only Deities can pass through and return to the land of Tiat from their heaven. However! (Here comes the problem!) the Altar-Deities, remaining spiritual beings which remained sealed in the lands of the Deities to balance out the powers of Good and Evil, were beginning to break the locks on themselves after their eons of slumber; you can't open the Door of Light if the Altar-Deities aren't sealed! (See? And that's where the story begins!) Our New Hero, Lionel, must travel the world with his Hero companions in order to re-seal the Altar-Deities and save the land of Tiat!

...I think Fin only fell asleep when I started to get near the end (I, uh, don't blame him, though. It was like...two in the morning.) But it got really sad! In order to seal the Altar Deities for eternity, Lionel had to give up his soul at the end and die for his world! (And then, you know, his girl gets all weepy and 'don't go, my love!'-y. But I totally expected that. Even though I was getting really weepy myself. I mean, geez! He can't even see the peaceful world he's gonna create!)

And, um, yeah! That's pretty much what happens! (I got lucky, too! I thought this book was gonna take me all night to read, but it's actually only three thirty! Whoo! I can get, um, two and a half hours of sleep!) I gotta remember to thank Mr. Wizard for letting me borrow this! Heehee, I'll betcha he'll be impressed when he sees that I finished the whole book in a day~!

So, anyways...With drying tears in my eyes from the end of the book, I slowly make my way to the covers, get all comfy in 'em, and...Yaaawwwwwn...fall asleep...Good night, farm...Good night, Finny…Good night, house…Good night, Mr. Wizard…

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"Oh, Wakukoooo~!"

Zzz...Orange juice...pie-cake...? (Mmm...Dreaming in sweets is delicious~...)

"Wakuko! C'mon, get up! It's six o' clock!"

Wh...whuzzat? We're...mixing the flock? Zzz...

OW! ...What? ...Oh, Finny's jumping on me. ...Ohhhh! It must be six o' clock already! Geez, he needs to be clearer about what he says, that silly goose!

"Mm...I'm...gettin' up..." I try to slur out. Auuugh...I'm so sleepy from staying up all late. Then again, I think it was worth it! That book was absolutely amazing! Now I can only hope Fin knows how to make some coffee...

"Goodness, Wakuko! Your eyes are all baggy!" Fin says as I rub my eyes, "What time did you stay up until?!"

"Um..." I begin, trying to get my thinking motors running, "Maybe, like...three or four-ish?" At that, Fin gasps like I committed a crime or something...Staying up late isn't always bad, you know! Especially when you're doing something important! (Or if you just end up getting lost in the Tam Tam forest...That kills waaaayyy too much time.)

"Ooh...that's late, silly! Want me to heat you up some of that coffee from yesterday?" the little guy asks kindly (yay, he does know how to make coffee!)...I really should get him a cookbook for his birthday or something...

I nod for an answer, I really don't feel like saying anything else right now...After I slither my way outta bed and put on my glasses (geez, it's cold in here!), I take a quick glance out the window: it's raining today, hooray! No crop watering for me~. It's a little heavy, though...I just hope the little blossoms don't get washed away!

"Any cream or sugar, Wakuko?" asks Fin as he tries to find a ladle through our cluttered cabinets. While I try to find something to wear for today, I say a quiet and kinda monotone, "Nah, I'll take it dark."

Auuuugh! I keep forgetting to wash my clothes...I guess I gotta find some of my spring stuff. Once I open the drawer and see all the shorts, though, I know I'm gonna be freezing...Oh, well! Mommy always said that if you forget stuff, it's your fault and yours alone! So I gotta be stuck with my little blue Sporty-style shirt and skirt, but I throw on an old woolen cap. At least my head'll be warm. Gotta at least make sure my brain doesn't freeze! (Haha...bad puns abound.)

Once I throw all of that stuff on, I slowly make my way over to the table, hoping that the coffee'll perk me up some. There's nothing else in it besides coffee, so...I figure it'll help me at least a little...Though, I've never actually had it just dark before. Then again, Mr. Wizard must have that kind all the time, so...it should be okay...U-uuahhh! What the heck, face?! You're not supposed to turn red at the mere thought of the guy! Ugh...Better just drink this stuff...

"Is it good?" I hear Fin ask; he probably wants some insight on his own special coffee blend or something...

HOLY HARVEST GODDESS! ...This is really strong! Whoa! It's, um, surprisingly good, too. And it woke me up a little with just one sip! This stuff's pretty good!

"Um," I begin, taking one more sip to make sure, "This is actually really good by itself! My compliments to the chef~!" Heehee, yeah, Finny, I see you blushing, there.

"Heehee, only the best for Wakuko!" the little guy chirps. Aw, see? The simplest things make Fin happy. And happy little Fins mean good days! So, today must be a really great day, you just wait and see!

As I take my last sip of the coffee, I thank Finny again for cooking, but I let him know that we'd better hurry up with chores and things before the animals go all crazy like they usually do when I forget to feed them...(N-not like I've forgotten to feed them or anything before! That was, um…hypothetical. Yeah. Totally.) I ask him with some help with the chickens and ducks while I take care of the larger animals; it's weird how he doesn't mind today…He's usually scared to death of anything that lives in the chicken coop…

We split up as soon as we get outside—AAUUUGH, I'M SO _COOOOOLLLD_! And I'm getting all wet from the rain! Ack, I really don't want to get a cold again from this stupid weather! I've already had five this season…I dunno if I can afford any more medicine from the clinic…Aah, I need to stop worrying and just head on in to the barn!

Whew, okay…I'm in! Aaand…my animals are all fidgety…as usual. It's so weird…when you go in, it's all loud and noisy with animal sounds and all, but, like…as soon as you leave, it's all…quiet. I swear, those animals are up to something, and I stare each and every one of them right in the eye…I thought I saw a glint of something in Doughnut's eyes (my prize-winning cow, thank you very much~.), but I think she was just staring so intently at the fodder I was about to give her rather than some kind of crazy plan…I guess I'm just being silly again.

As I throw the last bit of fodder into the food bins and the last container of milk into the shipping bin, (those things are so heavy…) I give all of my animals a pet farewell and make a mad dash through the rain and back to my lame excuse for a house! (I told Finny we'd meet back up there! Besides, I gotta get that book, too! I promised I'd bring it back when I was done~!)

Aauuugh, the door's not opening! …Did I lock it from the inside or something…? I knock furiously on the door…Finny, please tell me you're in there!

…Phew! Thank goodness…The door slowly opens, revealing little Fin pulling the big door with all his might. I run in as fast as I can so he doesn't have to hold the door for much longer; I know he has a hard time with that stuff 'cause he's so small…Then again, I'm way bigger than him, and yet I sometimes have trouble opening that door… I guess you could consider me a wimp even after all of this farm work, then!

"Th-that chicken coop was scary stuff…" I hear Fin say as he lets go of the door. It closes with a sharp BANG! (Heehee, I gotta admit I jumped a little…)

"Well you looked like you'd be okay when I asked you to do those chores, silly! You should have let me know and I would've helped you out!" I explain, still breathing kind of heavily from all that running and door-slamming.

"Yeah," Finny begins sheepishly, "I would've…but I wanted to get over my fear today!"

"That's awfully brave of you, little buddy!" I say, kinda surprised. My little Finny's growing up, you guys!

"Heehee, you really think so?" he asks, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. (Aw~.) "I figured you got over your fear of going to the Wizard's house, so I wanted to try something, too! I want to be like you, Wakuko!"

W-waaah, Finny's too cute! He's gonna make me happy-cry…At, like, seven in the morning, too! Couldn't he have at least waited until a little later…?

"Um, well, that's, uh…" I tried to say something cool to make Finny all happy, but it kinda…um…well, I kind of um…ended up…crying. I-I'm sorry! No one ever says neat stuff like that to me anymore! Except for maybe my mom, but, um…she doesn't really count…Err, wait, has my mom even said _anything_ nice to me?! …I can't remember…

"Waaaaaaah! Finny, stop being niiiiiiice!" I cry like a little kid as I hug the little guy. Finny was totally shocked at the sight of me crying because I really don't cry much these days… (It's really weird, too! I'm usually a total crybaby…) But, um, I have a feeling that this is going to be a chain reaction…

"Wakukooooo!" he starts tearing up, "D-d-don't cryyyyy!"

"I-I'm sorry! I just--" I stop to sniffle, "That was _really_ nice of youuuuuuu!"

…Yeah. Needless to say, we have to cry that out for a bit. I think one of the few things that little Fin and I have in common here is that we're both crybabies. But I think I'm glad that's one of the things we have in common, 'cause then we're always helping each other and stuff! …Er, well, except when it's just silly things like these.

But then, like…in the middle of our cry session there's this knock on the door. I'm all spazzing out because…er, well, who knocks on my door at seven in the morning?! It's a little strange. Eventually after the knocks get all loud and obnoxious-like I sit Fin down at the table so he can calm down, and I try wiping away any traces of tears I might have. Ugh, I hope I don't look too crazy…

…Oh! It doesn't matter! It's just Mayor Herbal at the door~. He's way crazier than me, so it's all good! I escort the old guy in as fast as I can so he can get out of the rain. He greets me with a big old "GOOD MORNING!", places his wet umbrella by the door, and sits himself down on one of my 500G chairs like he owns the place…(Er, wait. I mean, I guess he owns this place, doesn't he…? Mayors have all the land…right?)

"Uh, could I offer you some tea or coffee or something, Mr. Mayor Herbal, sir?" I ask as I realize my voice is still kind of scratchy from all the crying I did.

"Ah, no, no, I'm just fine, Wakuko, thank you! But, ah…Shouldn't you ask yourself the same question? You sound like a frog in a barrel!"

I laugh nervously, "Uh, yeah…Cold season. You know. That kind of stuff…It hits me every year."

"Ooh! Sucks to be you, I presume?" he asks kind of jolly-like. Well, uh,_ that's_ one way to put it…Has this guy been drinking again?! O-oh! Now that I look at it, his face _does_ look kind of red…

"Er…Uh-huh," I begin, but I figure with the kind of attitude he's in I'd better just get him in and out, "So, um, what brings you here, anyways?"

"Hmm—Oh, YES! I remember now!" he starts to say with that 'woo! I'm the mayor and you can't do anything about it!' voice, "So, Wakuko, have you heard of the Moon Viewing Festival?"

I shake my head. We have a festival for just looking at the moon in this place?! Geez, this place has like…twice as many festivals than they had at home!

"Oh, it's spectacular!" Mr. Mayor-who-I-think-is-tipsy says, "It's, ah…well, you go and look at the Fall moon! Riiiiiight in Caval Meadow! It's quite the sight, I have to admit!"

Dude, I've heard of this before! I'd heard they'd had it here on the mainland, but I've never actually celebrated it!

"Oh, boy! Do we get dumplings and stuff, by any chance?!" I think I'm getting this, now! I read a book on it once, a _really_ long time ago! You get to eat dumplings while you look at the moon!

"Quite the smart one you are, Wakuko! Aaaaaand, you get to invite someone, ah…._special_, if you know what I mean!" Mr. Sorta-kinda-drunk-Mayor Herbal says, almost kind of like he was implying something…

"Oh! Neato!" I try to reply with awe as though I actually get what he just said.

…What?! It's a problem that I don't get what he meant?

Or, um…Is it weird that I don't get what a 'someone special' is…? I wonder if has anything to do with what Finny was talking about yesterday…

Nah, it's probably not too important or anything~…

"Ah, _yes_!" Mr. Mayor begins, "Very, ahem…neato, if I do say so myself! Will you be going tomorrow, may I flask?"

A-ahh, no! He_ is_ drunk, isn't he?! He wouldn't be saying weird things like 'flask' in place of normal words like that! I don't even think Mr. Mayor has that kind of vocabulary! The biggest word I've ever heard him say was 'fabulously-fabulous'…

"Um, you mean 'ask'?" I try to correct him, but he's not really listening…In fact, he kinda started cracking up with laughter once he actually got what I was trying to tell him…Goodness, his drunkenness is getting worse by the minute!

"AHAHAHAHA! You said _'ask'_!" he cries out like it's the funniest thing ever, "Wakuko, you are a ca-a-a-rd!" Uh…I don't like where this is going…Did he think I said something else…? A-ahh! This is really confusing me…I'm just gonna get him outta here…Even Finny's giving him weird looks!

"Ah, I'll be going to the festival!" I try to say through Mr. Mayor's really crazy laughter, "Um, it's…tomorrow night, you said?"

"Yes, sir! Yes indeed~!"

"Oh, good!" I say, trying to keep up this fake smile that I slapped on my face a few minutes ago, "Um, that's…that's all you came here to say, right?"

"Mmhmm!" says Mayor Herbal, "And, uh, one more thing…"

"What might that be, Mr. Mayor, sir…?"

"My son Gil…he's found my stash! My _suuuuper_ secret cocktail stash! He threw it all awaaaayyyy! W-w-wouldja happen to know where it might be…?"

Um, or maybe he just drank that whole stash before he came here…

"Er, um…I don't really--" I started to say, but then the front door opened, and I was like 'whoah!' It wasn't too much of a surprise to see who'd just barged in—in fact, um, I don't blame Mr. Gil for barging in at all...

"Father! You had better have a good explanation for this!" Mr. Gil began as he politely shut the door on his way in. He kinda looked at me for a second and nodded politely as if to say 'hello'. (How gentlemanly!) When he stares me right in the eye, he kind of reminds me of someone I know…But, um, I don't really remember who. Heehee, it's really weird!

"Sorry about all of the commotion, Wakuko," Mr. Gil says to me as he tries to drag his dad out by the ear, "It, ah…shouldn't happen again…I hope."

"Oh! Um, no problem!" I tell him, "Keep him away from the drinks and stuff!"

I dunno if Mr. Gil heard me, but, um, Mr. Mayor-being-dragged-out-of-my-house sure did…

"Y-you'll…never take me _aliiiiiiiiiiive_, copper!" I hear him say as he's dragged out into the rainy weather, umbrella in hand, "This is _my_ town! You—you can't take me--"

…The door slams shut. Whew!

"…I've never seen Mayor Herbal like that before at all!" I hear Finny say as he flutters up behind me.

"Neither have I, Finny. N-neither have I…"

Well, I think Finny and I can safely say that this is the strangest morning we've had in Castanet Valley from the whole time we've been here together! But I can't help but ask…

"Hey, Finny…"

"Hmm?" the little guy looks at me, "What is it, Wakuko?"

"Was that Moon Viewing thing true? I mean…the mayor _was_ kinda drunk and all when he said it, so I dunno if I can really believe him…"

"Oh! Um…I think so! Er, well, maybe…I'm not too sure…I've never actually been to a Moon Viewing Festival here!"

Ooh! Finny hasn't been to one, either? That's a little weird! He's been living in Castanet Valley longer than me, hasn't he? So, um…does that mean the mayor was really lying? Aaaugh…All of this thinking so early in the morning is making my head hurt!

"Hmm…" Finny ponders, "I wonder who we could ask~…"

"Ooh, I know!" I cheer, "How 'bout the Goddess? You said she knows _everything_ about the Valley, right?"

"Not about silly festivals, though! She doesn't go to those…"

"D'aww…I guess I'm gonna just have to ask Mai about it once we get to the Inn today!"

Oh, yeah, that reminds me…I wanted to go to the Inn today…Actually, I had a lot of things I wanted to do today, didn't I? Ack! Yeah, I did! I guess that means I need to get going, don't I?

I tell Finny we should get going to town soon; he's all happy when I say that and takes out his cute little yellow umbrella from out of nowhere. (I wish I could do that…) As for me, I strap my rucksack to the side of my skirt like I usually do, stuff some snacks and tea in there, and slip on my super-lucky froggy-style rain boots! (Heehee, I've had these things forever. I kinda wonder how they still fit me, actually…)

Before I head out, though, I gotta remember to take Mr. Wizard's book! I'll just carry it on hand…I'd feel all insecure and stuff if I just stuff it in my rucksack with everything else…After all, it might get all torn and stuff if I did!

Anyways, when Finny and I finally make our way out into the rain, we start running as fast as we can!

"_Good morning, Castanet Valley_!" I sing out as I run, "_It's another wonderful day today_!"

"_The sun might not be shining, but everything'll be okay!_" Finny joins in. (The more the merrier, I always say!) It gets really fun, now, 'cause this is the part where we sing together!

_"Mister Sun just wants to take a nap, he'd like to dilly-dally,_

_But tomorrow will be a brighter day in Castanet Valley~!_

_When the sun comes out tomorrow, we can all run and play,_

_And when we get in town everyone will say…_

_'It's a wonderful day in town today, let's make each moment last!'_

_But Wakuko wants to go to the mines today, even though all she'll find is glass!_

_And when she gets back home, she'll have to water all her crops!_

_So she'd better enjoy the sunny day before she passes out and drops~!_

_La la la la la la~"_

Aaah, I love singing! It's so fun! (That's also why it's so fun to live in a place that's named after lots of instruments!) The best part is that whenever I sing, Finny always picks up the harmony for whichever song I sing! He's really great at that! And it passes lots of time, too~! See, um…we're already past the little lily-pond that leads into town! All we gotta do now is go down the road, cross a bridge or two, and we'll be right in town!

"Hey, Finny!" I yell out through the heavy rain, "We should make up a new song soon, you know?"

"Ooh! That sounds fun! We haven't done that in a while!" he says happily (aw~.), "What should it be about?"

…Actually, that's a good question…

"Um, I dunno!" I tell him honestly, "But we gotta get something good eventually, right?"

"Yup! The Goddess always says that the more experience you have, the more you have to say! Or, um…was that it…?"

Heehee, you might be good at cooking stuff, Fin, but when it comes to remembering stuff, you're just plain silly about it!

…Oh! We're already at bridge number one? Goodness, that was fast! Time flies when you forget what you're doing! The first bridge is kinda rickety and old, (not to mention it's built above a really fast-moving river…) so I'm always kind of afraid to cross it, especially on rainy days…But as long as I have Finny, I should be okay…If I go down, he's a-going down with me! But, um…I'm not gonna tell him that unless we really do fall.

Every step (or flutter, in little Fin's case) we took over the bridge and towards town, my chest kind of gets tight…I hold on to Mr. Wizard's book as tightly as I possibly can! I don't know why…Did Mr. Wizard's heartbeat spell by his house spread all the way over here or something…? Or is it just because I'm running so fast?

Well, whichever reason it is, it's still not stopping, and we're almost in town, too! I kind of want to tell Finny about it, but I dunno if he'd understand…

"Hooray!" I hear the little guy say as we finish crossing the second bridge, "We're here~! Hello, Harmonica Town!"

Oh, well~! We're here, so if that feeling's not gonna go away I'd, uh…better get used to it, right?

"Heehee, you're silly, Finny!" I chuckle kinda quietly so no one walking around town thinks I'm crazy, "No one can hear you except me, remember?"

"Aw…But that doesn't mean I can't say hello, now, does it?"

"Hmm…I guess?" I shrug. Finny's such a little optimist on rainy days like these.

After I see a few people pass by, I nod to Fin as if to tell him that I can't really talk much to him anymore…He's always a little sad when I tell him that, but he usually ends up fluttering around me and enjoying himself anyways.

Now, onto today's business! Let's see, where'd I put that to-do list…It's not in my back pocket…not in my rucksack, either…Front pocket, maybe?

Aha! There we go! I always tell myself to remember that I put my to-do list-type stuff in my front pocket on the day before, but somehow I always end up forgetting…Maybe if I tell myself to forget it I'd actually remember!

Now, uh, let's see what's on this thing…

"_Wakuko's Super Awesome To-do list for the 13__th__ of Fall:_

_1. Go to Mr. Wizard's house and bring back the book, you silly goose!_

_2. Head on down to the Ocarina Inn and have lunch with Mai and Juli~._

_3. Get your butt over to Flute Tailoring and pick up that new rucksack Selaf made for you~._

_4. Visit Pat at Cembalo General Store just for the heck of it! (Oh, and give her that Rare Metal you found the other day, too!)…"_

Um, there was more, but that's all of my morning to mid-afternoon-type stuff. I don't want to bore anyone with my silly to-do list, after all!

So, uh…I guess I'm…going to Mr. Wizard's house first, huh…? Sounds like a piece of cake…

But then why is my chest all fluttery?!

I mean…I-I'm not nervous or anything…I just, um…I dunno, actually! I wonder if I'm afraid of talking to him! I mean, I guess I sorta _kinda_ want him to be my best buddy, too…but…It's kind of hard to talk to a magical wizard who could, um…turn you into stone or something if you say something wrong, or could turn you into dust if you give him something he doesn't like, or…or…

…Or, um…he can brighten my day up and make my cheeks all red without knowing it if I just be myself…

U-uaahhh! What are you doing, Wakuko?! Just go and give him the silly book! You've been standing here thinking about nothing for ten minutes and Fin's looking at you like you're crazy! Just, um…think about something nice. Um, let's see…I could think of…

Ooh! I got it! I can think of Mr. Wizard smiling when I gave him that coffee yesterday! Yeah, that's a good idea! Maybe, just maybe, he'll get to smile when I give him the book back! All I gotta do is hold on tight to the book and think of him smiling! Yeah, let's go! Up the main road~! _Charge!_

Uaaah, I feel like I can't breathe! But I gotta keep going…!

"Wakuko!"

…Is that Finny…? Ack! No! I can't talk, Finny, we have to get to the Wizard's house! All I have to do is give him back this book! (I can't feel my arms anymore from holding it so tightly! I hope it's all right…)

"_Wakuko!" _ Fin yells out one more time. Wh-what's the problem with him?!

"Finny!" I say quietly so only he can hear, "We have to go to the Wizard's house! I'm, um…not stopping! I can't stop! If I stop, I--"

I won't be able to see Mr. Wizard smile…All I want to do is make him happy…I-I mean, Th-that's what friends are—

"_Wakuko, watch out for that puddle_!"

…H-huh?! A puddle?! Wh-where?

"_U-uaaaaaaaaahhhh~!" _ is the only thing I can say as I slip and _faaaaaallllllll_~~!

W-wait, I'm falling?! Oh, no! No, I can't fall! Ohh, Goddess, don't let me fall! I-I have Mr. Wizard's book in my hands! If I slip and fall, that means I'll--

_**SPLASH!**_

…drop it.

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…Oww…My head hurts…I feel like I can't move…Everything's all dark. All I can hear are pretty raindrops…I even feel kind of like rain, too…

Ooh, I know! I must be dead! When I tripped and fell I must've cracked my head open and died! That's why everything's all dark and stuff!

"_Wakuko!"_

…Oh, wow~! What a cute little cherub-like voice…They even know my name in this place, too! …I haven't even been dead for a few minutes, yet…

"Wakuko! Wake up!"

…Wait a minute! I'm not dead! That's Finny's voice, isn't it…? Or, uh, wait, don't tell me! Fin just died, too?!

"_Waaaaaahhhhhhh!" _

I-I think I hear Finny's wailing in the background, too...

Wait a minute; I'm not dead at all!

"Ugh…Oww…" I manage to grumble out as I slowly try to get myself up. I guess if Fin's here crying his eyes out I must not be dead! Finny's too little and cute to have kicked the bucket, anyways…

"Wakuko, you're alive!" the little sprite cries, "I-I thought—when you f-fell down, you…U-uaaaahhhh!"

"N-no, I'm not dead…" I mumble. After I kinda get a sense of where I am (and that I'm sitting in a very large puddle on the side of the road), everything's sorta blurry…My glasses must've fallen off when I tripped!

"Hey, um…have you seen my glasses, by any chance?" I look towards the little blur that was Fin. To my surprise, he'd already had a kinda long-looking red blur in his tiny little hands.

"Uh-huh!" he says as he slips them onto my face, "Here you go!" When they're all on, I notice that they're a little wet from the rain, but that's okay…They should dry off in a little bit once we get to Mr. Wizard's house…

Ah! That reminds me…where'd that book get—

"Uh-oh…" is the only thing that comes out of my mouth when I finally see where the book landed from where I'm sitting. Finny must've noticed the scared-to-death look on my face.

"Wakuko…I-is everything all right?"

"Th-the book…" I point out.

"Hmm?" Fin asks as he tries to look at where I was pointing, "What about the—Oh, _no_!"

The book…It fell into a puddle when I wasn't looking…

"I-I have to get it before it gets any worse!" I yell almost without thinking as I run to the little puddle where the book lay. I-I'm scared…I didn't mean to let it drop, I swear!

When I take the book and open it, though…

"E-everything's ruined…isn't it…?" I murmur. I try to turn every page to look for at least one page that didn't get all wet and blurry from the water, but…

"W-Wakuko," Fin tries to say behind me, "it wasn't your--"

"I-It's all my fault, Finny!" I yell back to him, trying to keep down a lump in my throat. I-I didn't mean to, but…I started crying like a stupid little kid…

"…Mr. Wizard won't want to be my friend anymore!" I told Fin through sobs, "I ruined the book, a-and…I-It's all my fault!"

I'm really sorry, Mr. Wizard…Really, really sorry…

* * *

…And, um, yeah! That's chapter two for you! :D

Um, but don't worry! Things'll probably look up for Wakuko! …Hopefully. And gasp! I think there's a connection between the author of that book and Mr. Wizard! XD ('Cause...you know. You'll get it if you know what Mr. Wizard's real name is.)

As always, reviews, comments, and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated! I really love getting those e-mails that say I got a neat-o-cool review! And then when I read the review, it usually makes me a very happy camper! So I'd love to hear from you! :D

Thanks again for reading, and I hope you'll be there to read the next and final part! :D

~SGP


	3. Chapter 3

…Okay, I dunno why it took so long for me to post the last part of this…The whole story's been done for_ever_. –facepalm-

But I really don't have too much to say for this chapter beforehand, I think…So I hope you'll all enjoy the rest of this story! As always, reviews are loved like a freshly baked cheesecake, so if you have the chance, I'd love to hear from you! General stuff, constructive criticism…whichever the case, I'll try to reply if/when I can! :D

There'll be one more little note post-chapter, so keep your eyes out for it once you're done reading! XD Until then, here we go!

* * *

For a while after I fell, I didn't really care that I'd been sitting in a puddle out in the rain. All I wanted to do was find a way to fix that book…But it only got worse…

Um, it took a while for me to calm down and stop crying…But I figured maybe the book would dry out if I kept carrying it along with me, so even though I was all drippy from the rain, I started heading down to the Ocarina Inn…I hope they don't get mad that I'm soaked…

But, uh, no need to be all sad, r-right?! I gotta keep going! I always find a way to make things work out in the end! At least, I usually do…

All righty, um, let's see…where's the Inn again…gotta make a left here, um, or was it a right…? Ack, now I'm getting all forgetful 'cause I'm a wreck right now! Well, uh, I'll just keep going down Clinic Road and hopefully it'll pop up. If it's not, then I just go down another road!

…In the rain…

All soaking wet…

With a ruined book in my hands…That's probably getting worse by the minute—Aaah! No! No being negative, silly Wakuko! I gotta stay positive or else Finny's gonna notice that I'm all depressed again…

"Um, Wakuko?" Finny flutters in front of me. He still looks kinda down…

"What's the problem, Finny?" I ask, trying to keep up the happy. Maybe if I'm lucky the happiness'll be all contagious and it'll cheer Finny up.

"Well, I was thinking! Um, maybe if you just talked to the Wizard and told him what happened--"

"Aaaah!" I covered my ears, closed my eyes, and yelled (even if there were a few people around), "Don't bring it up! I'm not listening! You're gonna make me all depressed, Finny! I-I don't wanna be sad again, and--"

"…Hmm? Who's this 'Finny' you're talking to, Wakuko~?"

…Huh? What the heck! That didn't sound like little Fin at all just now! But, um, it does sound really familiar…I guess I should stop covering my ears and eyes and find out—

"O-oh! Um, hi there, Juli! You, um…heard all that?"

Whew! I knew it was Juli! (It didn't look like he was getting wet from the rain at all…In fact, he had this pretty purple umbrella he was using.) Finny had actually moved back a little when I started yelling and all. I looked back at him as he shrugged all sad-like, but he fluttered back to my side once I opened my eyes.

Aaaanyways, lemme tell you about Juli! Well, um…You know how I always say that Finny's like a younger brother? Well, Juli's like an older brother! (A very pretty older brother, to be specific!) He's been real nice to me since the first day I was here, so we got to be buddies really fast! (He's always giving me and my friend Mai fashion tips, too, heehee. He really likes stuff like that! In fact, he always dresses in the prettiest clothes…I sometimes wish I had his fashion sense…)

"Fufu, most of it~," he starts to say (aww, dangit!), "So, is 'Finny' a friend of yours?"

"Actually, uh…" I take a look at the little sprite that only I get to see. But then I figured…No use hiding it, right?

"Yup!" I say, proudly, which kinda makes little Finny spaz out a little and look at me like I'm a maniac, "He's, um…my invisible friend! I talk to him whenever I need advice! Er, but sometimes he's not very good at advice-giving…"

"Ah, I see~!" he laughs cheerfully and plays along like I was making all of this up (Ohh, but if only you knew the silly truth of it all, Juli~.), "Fufu, it sounds very, ah… interesting! You'll have to introduce me to him sometime~. "

While this whole thing was going on, by the way, Finny looked all scared when Juli said he wanted to meet him. His face got all red and he was like, 'I'm not worthy, Wakuko! He's…he's too sparkly!' You're such a silly goose, Fin…I laughed at Finny for being a scaredy-cat and Juli for his playing along.

"A-ah, um, anyways!" I tried to say as I kept a little smile on my face (I hope…), "Were you heading over to Mai's place just now?"

"Mmhmm~," Juli nodded, "I figured it'd be better to go a little earlier…Might as well beat the crowd before it gets here!"

…Whoa! Did he just say 'crowd'?!

"The Ocarina Inn gets crowds?!" I ask, astonished. Since Harmonica Town doesn't really have a lot of people in it, you barely hear _that_ word around here…Um, in fact, I haven't heard it in a really long time!

"Fufu, of course there're crowds, silly!" he says as he pokes me on the nose, "I suppose you're just never there to see them, hm?"

"Hmm…I guess if I dunno what you're talking about, I haven't, huh?" I ponder about it for a while…_Have_ I ever been there around noon….? "Um, but we should get going! Mai's gonna get mad if we're late!"

"Hm~. That's true; we'd better hurry on over, then~!"

Juli nodded; he was nice enough to make room under his pretty purple umbrella for me! (Hooray!) It was really neat, too! The rain was all _pitter patter~ _under it! I couldn't help him hold the umbrella, though…my hands are still full with Mr. Wizard's ruined book…

U-uahhh! I dunno what I'm gonna do with clumsy little me…

I guess Juli must have seen the pout on my face when I thought that. He looks at me like Finny usually does when I'm doing something silly…

"You all right over there, Wakuko? You seem a bit under the weather..."

"U-uhh, who, me?!" I ask, surprised (I dunno why I should be, though. I know I'm not.), "Nuh-uh, I'm…uh, perfectly fine! Yeah! …Just fine..."

"Well," Juli starts to say, "You've been doing nothing but sighing and staring at that strange-looking book in your hands, so I just couldn't help but ask~."

Aww, dangit, how does he see all of this stuff?! I-I'm not that much of an easy read, am I…? But…then again, Juli's really good at giving advice, and Finny's looking at me again like he's telling me to tell Juli about what happened…But…I don't want everyone to know about this! Everyone in Harmonica Town says that if something reaches Juli, it'll reach the whole town in no time flat! Then again, Juli's my buddy…he wouldn't do something as embarrassing as that, would he…?

Ohh, fine! I guess I might as well tell him…

I sigh, "Y-yeah…I guess I haven't really been having such a good day today…B-but I'd rather tell you about it when we get to the Inn…I think I'm gonna need Mai's advice, too."

"Aha~!" Juli cheers like he just scored a goal or something, "I _knew_ it!"

"I-it's not that big of a deal, silly…" I mutter as my gaze drops back to the road. Heehee, it's funny how Juli takes even the smallest things to the extremes…But I guess it's neat, 'cause then we can breathe some life into this town! …Er, now that I think about it, I dunno what's worse, Castanet Valley being really lively with silly rumors, or Castanet Valley being really lively with silly rumors of _me_…U-uahh! Both of them are kinda scary to think about!

Juli chuckles, but looks back at me, "Well, it's always better to get things that bother you off your chest, don't you think?"

…Actually, he kinda has a point there~!

"Hmm…" I think about it for a second, "I s'pose. But I don't want you telling everyone you know about my problems once you get your hands on them! …Okay?"

"Wakuko!" he gasps, kinda overdramatically, "I would _never_!" …Yeah, yeah, silly. Don't be all sarcastic about it.

I kinda laugh when he says that, and when I open my eyes again, we were right in front of the Inn! Whew! Any longer and I dunno if I would have survived Juli's prying!

Juli closes his umbrella, and I can't help but hold onto Mr. Wizard's book a little tighter…I'm kinda getting nervous…I could talk to Finny about something like this, but when it comes to Juli and Mai, I'm just worried that they might tell someone about it or something…

Then again…keeping secrets and sticking together in thick and thin are what friends are for, right? Yeah! There's no need to worry~.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As we open the door, all of these smells of really good food just come rushing at us! It smelled like all kinds of pies and cakes! And not just that, either! There was lots of savory-smelling stuff, too, like pancakes and even, um…Is that sautéed mussels I smell? Uahh! It _all_ smells really good! And the best part is that none of the usual customers are here yet except for us! Yayyy! That means we get first dibs on stuff! …I hope.

"Welcome to the Ocarina Inn!" we hear a cheery voice call out from around one of the tables (it's Mai!), "How can I—Oh! Wakuko, Juli! You guys got here early~!"

Okay! Time for me to tell you about Mai! Her whole family runs the Ocarina Inn, and she loves to eat stuff! The only thing is, she's not very good at cooking… (Just like me!) But I know how she feels! It's like…you want to eat something, but then you know if you cook, you're gonna make something icky and then you'll still be hungry after all that work of trying to cook! Heehee, I guess you can say we have a lot in common…

"Heehee," I chuckle and scratch the back of my head in embarrassment, "We figured we'd head over since we were in the neighborhood…"

"Well, more like _you_ were, Wakuko~," Juli adds, "I just happened to pass by while she was."

"…Wait a sec," I ask, "Isn't that, like…the same thing?"

"Of course not!" Juli shakes his head all vehement-like at me, "Unlike you, I'm having a relatively good day today~."

"Huh?" Mai asks as she finishes wiping down a table, "Wakuko's having a bad day?"

And then she looks up at me and realizes why. (Wow…! I guess I _am_ sort of an easy read…)

"O-oh! Wakuko, you're soaked!" I hear her cry out, "And that book you're carrying…That's dripping, too! Did you--"

"Yeah…" I nod. Sometimes Mai and I don't even have to finish a sentence to know what we're talking about. It's kinda neat!

"You should have told me earlier, silly!" She tells me as she runs toward the door in the back that lead to all of the rooms, "Stay right there, I'll get you some blankets!"

Before she runs into that hallway, though…

"Oh! Juli, you can take a seat wherever!" Mai cries but then stops again, "I almost forgot! The usual lunch for you guys?"

"Yay! I'm for it!" I cheer. Hooray, Belgian Waffles _a la mode_, here I come~.

"Fufu, I'll take the usual, as well," Juli nods happily as he sits down at a nearby table.

For a while, I just stand by the door like Mai told me to, shivering a little from the cold rain. But even though you might think I'm not really enjoying myself standing here, I'm actually a-okay! Besides, everything's always a little better when you know warm blankets, waffles and ice cream are coming your way! Right?

While I'm waiting, I whisper to Finny that he can get under the blankets, too, if he wants to. He's all happy when he hears that; he loves warm blankets as much as I do!

"All righty, I got them!" I hear Mai say as she heads back toward the front of the Inn and hands some woolen blankets to me, "Here you go! Warm up, okay? And sorry if it's a bit itchy…"

"Hooray!" I cheer as I wrap the blankets around Finny, the book, and me, "Thank you so much!"

"No problem!" she chirps as she takes my hand and brings me over to the table, "C'mon, let's sit down~! Granny and Mom are taking care of making lunch today, so I can talk to you guys!"

"Ah, that's wonderful~!" Juli smiles at the two of us, "We'll have all the more to talk about, won't we?"

"Yeah!" Mai nods as we sit down, "So how've you guys been doing? Getting along any better with Kotomi, Juli?"

Heehee, as soon as Mai said 'Kotomi', Juli's face gets all red. Kinda like how mine does when I'm talking to Mr. Wizard!

"I-I-I don't know what you're talking about!" He tries to defend himself, but adds, "We've always gotten along fine!"

"Haha! That's not what Roomi told me the other day!" Mai laughed, "She said you were trying to ask Kotomi out when she--"

"Well, it's not _my_ fault she says I'm a transvestite! If that old hag knew what was good for her, she would have gone--"

"Aw, c'mon, Juli!" I throw in among the conversation, "Kotomi never said anything like that before! Why do you think she has now, all of a sudden?"

Juli has to think about that for a while (heehee.); Mai and I look at each other and chuckle a little. I never realized how lively the conversations the three of us had were! Finny even told me he was getting kind of dizzy from all of the talking going back and forth~!

"W-well," Juli continues, frustrated, "She was _about_ to call me one--!"

"Now, how do you know that for sure, Juli?" Mai asks as I nod in agreement, "She could have been saying 'okay!' for all you know! I'm sure if you apologized for storming out like that, then she would go out with you!"

For a while, Juli just kinda stares at us, and then all of a sudden his eyes get all wide! Maybe he had one of those epiphany things…Oh! But once his eyes get all wide, he slaps the palm of his hand to his forehead like he regrets something! I hope he's okay…

Juli sighs out sadly, "I-I suppose you're right…But…Do you think she'd really want to…go out with me?"

"Sure she would!" I tell him, "You just gotta be brave and ask her again! As long as you guys are bestest buddies, then everything should be all right!"

…Then Mai and Juli just kinda stared at me weirdly…U-uahh! Did I say something bad or something?

"B-bestest buddies?" Mai asks in monotone. O-oh, no! I _did_ say something bad, didn't I?!

"U-uh, y-y-yeah!" I tell her, kind of embarrassed, "You know…um…sticking together forever and all that?"

Um…I kinda trail off after that…I figure I'm only making things worse for poor Juli, who looks really depressed right now…but to my surprise, he kind of cheers up a little and smiles.

"Fufu!" Juli laughs, "You really _are_ adorable, Wakuko~."

"Wh-wha…?" I ask. I-I'm really confused! "Wh-why am I adorable all of a sudden?!"

"I didn't know _you_ didn't know about that stuff, Wakuko!" Mai says, really surprised. W-wait, what's so surprising? My head is starting to huuuurt really bad, now!

"What stuff?!" I ask, straightening my glasses, "I-I'm _really_ confused, you guys!"

"I don't think you should worry about it too much," Juli says to me, "With what's going on with you now, I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually~."

…Wait a minute, how does _he_ know what's going on with me now, anyways?! U-uahh…I give up…If I think about this whole 'stuff' thing, my head just might explode without me knowing it!

But I didn't have to worry about it much a little while after; Miss Cole and Miss Yuba brought our lunches to the table for us! We were really happy! (And I was really, really glad to finally get some good food, too!) All three of us stuffed our faces with what we were eating: Juli had a neat-looking Pumpkin Bake with some cranberry juice, (I wanted to try some, but Juli said he wanted it all to himself today! He must be really hungry, too!), Mai got her favorite, a Baked Yam with some Apple Juice on the side~. As for me, I was able to get my waffles with ice cream and some hot cocoa! The best part is that Miss Yuba put extra ice cream and powdered sugar on the waffle for me! Heehee, she really is the best in town~!

"Mmm~!" I said through bites, "This is the _best_ waffle with ice cream I ever had, Mai! You gotta tell your granny for me!"

"Heehee, didn't you say that last time, too?" Mai chuckles as she pops a forkful of yam into her mouth.

"O-oh!" I say, surprised. She's right! I did, didn't I…? "I guess it was just so good that I must've forgotten~." Eating with friends like this always makes me really happy—it's like all of your troubles just kinda poof away! I mean, geez, if I could eat as many waffles as I could to get rid of my problems, I probably would, to tell you the truth…But, um, even then, I dunno if there's enough waffle mix in the world to make me happy, heehee…

"Well, you sure seem much happier than you did when I found you today, Wakuko~." Juli adds as he stuffs a piece of the Pumpkin Bake into his mouth.

"Oh, yeah!" Mai chimed in, "I almost forgot to ask about that!"

"I think I deserve the right to know, as well. Do tell, Wakuko~," Juli nods happily.

O-oh! They really want to know, d-don't they?!

"Y-you guys really want to hear about it…?"

They both nod. (I was expecting that…)

"Of course, silly!" Mai says as she smiles, "We can't help you if we don't know what's happening!"

"Well…okay," I give in, but quiet down a little so no one else but my friends hear, "But, um…promise you guys won't tell anyone or laugh at me…?"

"I promise!" Mai replies as she looks over at Juli, "And Juli does, too! If he _does_ happen to tell anyone, I might as well tell _everyone_ about him and Kotomi, right? Fair is fair!"

Heehee, I don't think Juli was too keen on that idea. He promised not to tell, either, after hearing what Mai said. (And she was probably serious, too!) So…I figure I'd better tell them now, I guess…I know I can trust them, so it's all good!

"All righty…" I begin (Ack! I'm getting nervous again…), "W-well, um…you know Mr. Wizard from up the street…right?"

"Hmm…? As in that fortune-teller?" Juli asked.

"He's a _wizard_, silly! I've seen him do real magic before!" I try to tell the two of them that, but I don't know if they believe me…But I guess I can't convince them of stuff that they're not gonna ever believe…Besides, I think it's just a tiny detail, so…I'll keep going!

"Well, um, anyway…H-he was really nice to me, yesterday! I gave him some coffee, and then we had tea together, and then we talked about books a lot! A-and then…"

"Ooh!" Mai chimes in, "He gave you that book you're carrying with you, right? But then it got all wet and ruined?"

"Y-yeah…" I nod, trying to keep the lump in my throat down, "I-I dunno what I'm gonna do…I don't want him to be mad at me! I-I mean, I just wanted to be his friend…And every time I try to get close to his house, my chest gets all fluttery and I feel all lightheaded like I'm sick! It's really weird…I know it'll be ten times worse when I go in today, because now I have to tell him that I accidentally fell into a puddle and got his book all messed up! He's gonna kill me…"

"Hmm…That _is_ quite the dilemma…" Juli starts to say, "…And you say every time you get close to him, you feel nervous?"

"Mmhmm!" I nod.

"Wait!" cried Mai; we have to 'shush' her in case she gets too loud, "Does your face get all red every time you talk to him? D-do you feel like it's hard to talk to him?"

I was really surprised when I heard that from Mai; it's like she _is_ me!

"Yeah, yeah!" I nod again, "That's exactly it! …How'd you know anyways, Mai?"

"That sure is a spell right there~," Mai murmurs dreamily, but focuses her attention back to me and says happily, "Wakuko, I think you must have a crush on him!"

…Hmm? A what, now?! That sounds a little painful, actually…

"B-but I don't hurt or anything at all…" I tell Mai, "If I were being crushed, wouldn't I be hurt? Or, um, dead?"

…Once I say that, Mai and Juli look at each other with this crazy look on their faces again for a few seconds, and then they looked back to me with the same expression…Uh…Did I say the wrong thing again?

"Wakuko..." Juli starts to say, "…You really don't know what a 'crush' is…?"

W-wait a second! Um…I think I'm having one of those epiphanies again! It's, um, it's gotta do with what Finny was saying yesterday, doesn't it?! …Or, um, maybe not…Maybe I'll never know! Now I'm kind of getting confused again…

"N-nuh-uh," I tell him as I shake my head, "Um…Should I?"

"Fufu," Juli chuckles, "Actually, Wakuko, you should probably—OW! M-Mai, what are you--!"

Oh! Heehee, I think Mai elbowed him.

"Juli!" she pouts, "Just let her keep her innocence, for goodness sake! If you tell her everything about _you-know-what_, she's gonna turn into you, silly!"

Hmm…? Wait, my innocence is at stake here?! R-really?! This is getting to be scarier than I thought it would be, actually…Maybe I should just get back to the point at hand, here…I think Juli and Mai kinda dragged it off a little. Oh! But, um, I don't mind at all! They're really funny to listen to at times like these!

"Uh, a-anyways!" I try to get back into the conversation, "What do you guys think I should do…? I…I really don't know what to tell him! He said the book was really, really important to him…"

"Ah, r-right," Juli bounces back after Mai's elbowing, "Hmm…I would say you should just tell him the truth, correct? If you lie about something, it only gets worse! Trust me on that one~."

"Yeah!" Mai throws in, "I mean, I've been to him to get my fortune told a few times…He seems like a pretty mellow guy to me! I think you'll be a-okay if you just let him know what happened and apologize!"

As I listen to Mai and Juli's advice, I get a little nervous and stuff a big piece of waffle into my mouth…will it really be okay if I just go up and tell him? I mean, yeah…he's kinda mellow, but what if he ups and spazzes out? He…he wouldn't be friends with me anymore…I know it…

"Now, Wakuko, feeling sorry for yourself won't do at all~!" I hear Juli say as he tries to cheer me up, "Didn't you just tell me that I have to be brave in order to talk to Kotomi…?"

"Uh-huh…" I nod; that lump in my throat starts to pop up again! U-uahh! I have this feeling I'm gonna cry…

"That's right!" Mai chips in, "It's the same thing! You have to be brave in order to apologize to the Wizard! I know he'll forgive you! After all, you're you, Wakuko! I don't think anyone _wouldn't_ forgive you!"

Aw…They…They're too nice! I-I can't help it, I have to cry!

"Y-you guys…" I try to mutter out through little sobs, "Th-thank you…U-uahh!"

Heehee, for a second after I start crying like a baby, I thought that Mai and Juli would look at each other again as though I were crazy…But they didn't! They smile at me and cheer me up! And…and that makes me really happy…To know that I have friends who really care about me, even if I am a crybaby…

I-I think I'm gonna do it! I'm gonna tell Mr. Wizard what happened! I…I just hope he'll still be my friend…I want to bring him to lunch with Mai and Juli one day, too! I want him to laugh with us and smile with us and get lost in conversations with us!

After all…That's what friends are for, right?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, after taking Mai and Juli's advice, I decided to head down to Mr. Wizard's place as soon as I could! (They told me that the faster I get it over with, the happier I'll be in the long run, or something…Er, was that it…?) They told me they'd cover the bill for lunch so I could head out and go, too! I, uh, was really glad they did, actually…I'm dirt poor right now, heehee. But I promised myself that I'd pay them back when I was able to scrounge up some more money!

As I run down from Clinic Road into the main road, my heartbeat starts to go really fast again and I can just feel my running pace go faster and faster as I clutch the shabby-looking book! I-I'm getting more and more nervous by the second…Ohh, Goddess, please, _please_ let everything turn out a-okay in the end…I still want to be friends with Mr. Wizard, and—

"Wakuko!" I hear Fin call out behind me, he must've noticed I was going really fast, "Are you all right?"

"O-oh!" I say as I stop, "Y-yeah! Sorry if I was going a little too fast, Finny."

The little guy shakes his head, "No problem at all~! I'm just glad we're going to apologize to the Wizard, now!"

I wanted to talk with Finny a little just in case he had anything neat to say to me (sometimes he says the coolest things at the right time!), so I decided to slow down a little and walk by him…Even though I slowed down, though, I just ended up getting more and more nervous! But, uh, I guess that's my fault. Mommy always said that stuff that's your fault is your fault, and you need to do whatever you can to make things better! (I think...)

"Hey, Finny?" I begin quietly, so no one thinks I'm talking to myself.

"What is it, Wakuko?"

"I'm, um…" I start to say, but then I start getting all teary-eyed again, "I'm really sorry…"

"H-huh?!" Finny cries, "W-Wakuko, why are you sorry? You don't need to apologize! Or, um…I don't think you do…"

"Yeah I do, silly goose! You told me what was right in the first place, and I didn't really listen to you…"

"Aw, Wakuko! You're silly!"

"Heehee," I chuckle as I try to get out some nervous-ness, "I might be! But that doesn't mean a thing to me, you know! I like being silly!"

Auuugh, I may not seem like it now, but I'm really, really nervous…My stomach feels like someone stuffed a whole bunch of butterflies in there or something! It's a little scary, actually…I've never felt this nervous before…

Oh! That reminds me!

"Fin..." I start to say, kinda nervous-like, "D'you remember yesterday when you asked me if I liked Mr. Wizard?"

"O-oh!" Finny recalls, "Uh-huh, I do! What about it, Wakuko?"

"Wh-what did you mean…? Was it like what Mai and Juli were talking about today?"

"Um, what were they talking about, again?" Finny asks.

"Er…" Wait a second, I know this one! Um… "I think it had to do with crushing people?"

"Goodness!" Finny starts to say, "That sounds really painful! …But I don't think crushing people has to do with what I was saying, Wakuko!"

"Heehee! That's what I said about it!" I laugh, but nod at what he said about it not being related. Yeah, I had a feeling they weren't! But, um…I know I'm just a silly little farmer and all, but…I want to find out what they all mean. I dunno how long it's gonna take, but I just really want to find out! It'll be like a puzzle! I'll put all the pieces together, and when I'm done, it'll be really neat, I hope~.

…O-oh…I-I think I'm here, now…Yup...That little black sign with the star on it hasn't changed at all since yesterday…(Wait, why would it, anyways?) Ohh, goodness, this is much worse than before! M-my heart is pounding against my chest and I feel really sick to my stomach and I'm really lightheaded and it's getting really hard to breathe! A-aaahhh! I think I might be hyperventilating!

"W-Wakuko, are you all right?! You sound like you're dying!" I hear Finny say, a little choked up from the fact that he thinks I'm dying. Oh, but I'm okay~! No need to worry about Wakuko, here~.

"O-oh!" I gasp for breath while I speak, "Uh-huh…I'm good! Y-you ready to go in and all…?"

"You bet!" Finny cheers, "I'm ready if you're ready!"

Okay…Ruined book packed away in rucksack, check…brain, check. Glasses…check. Clothes… check. (Wh-what?! I need to be thorough, you know!) Sanity…

Um, probably not-check. Oh, well! I'm just gonna have to do my best and hope this works out…!

Here I go, I'm gonna open the door, now! I'm slowly…reaching for the doorknob, and…

_Creaaaaaakkk~_

Okay, the door's open! On the count of three, I'm gonna walk in and hope I don't trip, fall, and/or die in the process! One, two…

Ohhh, forget it. I'mma just go in…I gotta get this over with! Finny's looking at me all confident-like, so I guess I'd better act confident and run in, too! Here I go! _Charge!_

…All right! I'm in! …Well, _I'm_ in, but…Where's—

"…Wakuko…" I hear Mr. Wizard say…from somewhere. Seriously, where is he?!

"Aaaahh!" I cry out through my nerves, "Pleasedon'tkillmepleasedon'tkillme!" Well, um, that wasn't a very good start…Now he must think I'm crazy…O-oh, no…

"…Wakuko…?" Mr. Wizard says again; he walks down the stairs from the little observatory in his house (Heehee, so that's where he was!), "…Are…you all right…?"

He must've seen the look of complete terror on my face or something…He looked kind of concerned. (W-wait, concerned? F-for me? I dunno why, but…seeing him worry about me kind of calmed me down a little…It's weird, I know!)

"O-oh! Um, yeah!" I nod nervously (Uahh! I think my cheeks are getting red!), "I'm…okay, I guess! S-s-sorry about that…"

For a minute or so I don't really say anything—well, okay, it's not that I don't, it's more like I _can't_—I know if I utter even one word, I'm gonna regret it in no time flat…I'm kinda surprised, though; Mr. Wizard's been staring at me all worried-like this whole time. He almost makes me jump when he starts to say something…

"Wakuko, I…" he begins to say, but stops for a second (Oh, phew! His cheeks are getting red, too! I'm not alone!), "I'm glad…you came back…"

My whole face must've been as bright red as one of those shining tomatoes when he said that to me! I could feel all of the blood going straight to my cheeks…O-oh, Goddess, what do I say, what do I say?!

"Er, I, uh…" I try to say, "I-I'm glad you're glad! Uh, I mean…"

…Wait, what did I just say?! Ohh, geez, he must_ really_ think I'm crazy, now! So much for not being dead when this thing is all over...I sure hope Finny has my will and stuff for when he gets outta here…I mean, I guess he could have all of my stuff if he _really_ wanted to, but—

"Mr. Wizard!" I yelp out without thinking, "I-I need to talk to you!"

O-o-o-o-oh, no! No, no, no! Bad, stupid brain of mine! Why did I do that?! What did I just do?! How the heck did that all get out of my mouth without me knowing?! Ohh, cruel word, will I ever eat another waffle again?!

"…Ah…I see…" Mr. Wizard nods. He offers me one of the nearby chairs to sit in, but I kinda have to decline…I can't really feel my legs—I dunno what would happen if I tried to move. He stands close by to listen to me, though, and that doesn't really help my nerves very much—In fact, now I'm kind of regretting not taking that chair…my knees feel all shaky like they're gonna collapse on me…Oh, no! Th-that's bad! I gotta get this over with!

I'm still a little bit at a loss for words, but I start to tell him what happened earlier today:

"Um, well, I…Er, you know that book you gave me yesterday…? The one I promised to return…?"

Mr. Wizard simply nods to let me know that he's listening.

"I, um…I finished it last night~!" I tell him cheerfully to try to get the adrenaline level down a little…Not really a good idea, though…now my chest feels like it's gonna explode on me!

"…Did you…like the book…?" he asks, tilting his head a little bit. (Heehee! He looks kinda silly, now!)

"Ohh, you bet, Mr. Wizard!" I chirp, "I loved every word of it! I even cried at the end, too, heehee~."

"Yes…The ending…saddened me, as well…" He says, almost kinda quiet-like! I guess even thinking about the ending to that book can bring a person's spirits down, huh? I—O-oh! No, that's bad! Now Mr. Wizard's probably sad…And now I have to make him feel even worse…? W-well, maybe, if I keep going, I'll make him happy again! I-I can do this!

"B-but it was h-happy, too!" I try to say through a lump in my throat (O-oh, no! I-I can't cry! Not right now!), "L-like when the whole world g-got created anew, and everyone w-was happy…"

Ohh, Goddess, I'm on the verge of crying…Even Mr. Wizard knows! He's looking at me that way again!

"…W-wakuko…? …Are you--"

N-no! I'm not gonna cry! M-maybe, if I keep talking to him, I'll be okay!

"A-and I liked the part…t-the part where Lionel pr-promises his friends that he'd always be w-with them, and—and I…I…u-uahh…!"

O-oh…I-it's too late…all of the tears are rushing out of my eyes and I'm crying like a stupid little kid again…Even Finny's getting a little weepy…A-and it's all my fault!

"Is…is something…the matter…Wakuko…?"

"U-uahh…P-please don't say m-my name, Mr. Wizard…." I try to say through sobs as I try wiping all of the tears out of my silly little face, "I-I don't even deserve to be i-in front of you r-right now…"

I couldn't do anything at all! I'm so scared of telling him what happened that I can't even get a sound past my lips without a sob getting in the way—A-ah…

B-but Mr. Wizard…H-he takes both of my hands and holds them tightly. M-my face is getting red, I can tell! It's getting a little hard to breathe again, too…

"M-Mr. Wizard…?" I manage to squeak out. (Oh! Goodness, I sound so strange when I cry…)

"Please, Wakuko…" He says as he looks me straight in the eyes (is he…sad? F-for me?!), "Tell me…what's bothering you…I…want to help you…"

"C'mon, Wakuko!" I hear Finny cheer from a few feet away, "You can do it!"

U-uahh, that's it, I have to tell him! I don't want to see Mr. Wizard sad, but…!

"…When I was trying to take the book back to you, I-I fell into a puddle, and--" I stopped to take a breath as I took the book out and showed it to him, "I…I ruined it!"

For a while, Mr. Wizard doesn't say anything. He just kinda…lets go of my hands, takes the book, and takes a good look at it. I'm a little scared…Er, wait, no, what am I saying?! I'm scared to death! I mean, after all, I could be dead in the next few seconds! Er, I think…

"It…fell into a puddle…?" Mr. Wizard asks me without any emotion in his voice (Ack! And there wasn't that much to begin with, either…)

"I-I'm really, really sorry…" I sniffle. My chest gets tighter by the second…Mr. Wizard turns around and takes a few steps back from me. (O-oh, no…! I think this is it!) Before I know it, though, he drops his book on that little table where his crystal ball for fortune-telling usually is. (Huh…? Wasn't the crystal ball just there, too?) All of a sudden he just kinda started chanting…something. I can't really understand any of what he's saying, now…I-is it some kind of spell? Am I gonna die, now…?

"風のちから…ダナのちから…"

Wow! He really is chanting a spell! There's all of this magic gathering around him and everything! But something was kind of weird--

"Huh?!" Finny cries, "Did he just say 'Dana'?! As in the Harvest Sprite?"

…Oh! Um, what Finny said. If what we think is right, then…is he summoning Dana…? But wait a sec! Dana wouldn't kill me! I was the one who helped him get his bell back in its place! Uh, but then again, Mr. Wizard was the one who broke the spell on Miss Witch so she could give me the bell, so maybe Dana's indebted to him—O-oh, but I was the one that got all of the ingredients so Mr. Wizard could cast the spell, r-right?! So maybe he won't kill me, after all!

U-uahh! I can't help it, I'm closing my eyes!

…You know what's weird, though? I've been standing here for what feels like ten minutes and Mr. Wizard hasn't killed me, yet! All I hear are the sounds of a strong wind blowing through Mr. Wizard's house, but I don't feel any breezes or anything at all…Maybe I should open my eyes—

Er, no! I can't! That's just what Mr. Wizard _wants_ me to do! Bad, bad, bad Wakuko! …But…We_ are_ friends and all…I guess I should at least open my eyes so he doesn't get even angrier…

…Huh?!

Wh-whoa! No way! Th-the wind I was hearing, it's…It's all going toward where the book is! And all of the pages are turning and turning back and forth! Wait, so does that mean he's not killing me? …But he's killing the _book_ instead?! Naw, he wouldn't do that…

Oh! But all of a sudden, the wind just up and stops! I guess without the wind, it's just me, Mr. Wizard, and the book again! (Well, and Mr. Wizard's house and all of his furniture and stuff, but that's not important! Er, at least I don't think it is…)

I hear Mr. Wizard flipping through the pages of the book—hey, wait a sec! They…they sound like actual pages again! Whenever I tried turning the pages earlier today, they didn't even make a sound! But now…everything sounds better. W-wait! Does that mean, when Mr. Wizard was summoning all of that wind, he actually…

"Wakuko…" I hear him say as he takes the book from the table, hides it behind his back, and walks toward me, "It's…all right."

"H-huh…?" I ask, still pretty weepy, "Does that mean…"

Mr. Wizard shows me the book—It…It's all better! I-I can't believe it! It looks as good as new! There aren't even any marks or anything on it at all…

"I…I fixed it…" he tells me as a smile somehow makes it onto his face.

"W-w-w-wait a second!" I cry out, "You mean…you…you're not mad at me, Mr. Wizard?"

He simply shakes his head.

Th-this is so great! He…he's _not_ mad at me! He just fixed it! And all this time, I thought…he would get mad at me…Even Finny was smiling big for me; he knew I was really, really happy! I think I even started crying a little! (But they were super-happy tears, mind you!)

"I…I'm glad… really, really glad!" I manage to get out through happy sobs, "I was really scared you'd get mad…I-I mean, I didn't even bring any coffee!"

Mr. Wizard just smiles a little (hooray!) and he even puts his hand to my cheek to wipe one of my happy-tears away! (And, uh…you know. Subsequent red face and all…)

"I…don't mind…" he says as he brushes another of my tears off. (Heehee, he's such a gentleman!)

"You're sure?" I ask, smiling a little. The lump in my throat's slowly going away, so it's easier for me to talk now. (Yay!)

"Yes…" he begins, "That's…what friends are for…correct?"

Whoa! When I hear that from Mr. Wizard, of all people, I'm actually kind of shocked! But…it's a good kind of shocked! A happy, cheerful kind!

"…Friends?" I ask. (Heehee, there's a huge smile slapped onto my face and I know it…The worst part is that I can't get it off!)

"Ah, um…" he starts to say as he looks away out of embarrassment (Aw! No need to be embarrassed, silly!) "…Like 'buddies'…friends until the end…That kind of thing…Right?"

Finny gasped.

_I_ gasped!

He…He just took my line! Holy Harvest Goddess! Mr. super-quiet-doesn't-say-much-Wizard took_ my_ line! I don't think I've ever been so honored in my entire life!

As soon as he finishes, I can't help but jump up with glee and wrap my arms around him in a big ol' hug!

"Heehee!" I laugh, "You're the bestest buddy I've ever had, Mr. Wizard!" I'm really surprised; he wraps his arms around me to hug me, too! It's a little bit embarrassing, and my heart keeps beating really fast, but…I'm happy! I don't think I've ever been this happy before!

"I…I'm glad, Wakuko…" I hear him say. I look up to see him smiling again (Wow! Three in a row! I'd say that's a new record, Mr. Wizard!), and then I kinda close my eyes for a little...Being with my best buddy in the whole wide world and giving him a big hug…It's the best feeling in the world!

And…I-I feel really safe here…with Mr. Wizard close to me…It's almost like magic…an everyday magic that many people can see. I wonder…can Mr. Wizard and I see it, too…?

"…Wakuko…?" I hear him say. It kinda makes me jump out of my little reverie.

"U-uahh! I'msorryI'msorry!" I yelp as I accidentally let go of Mr. Wizard and fall flat on my butt in the process! (Oww…) I can hear Finny laughing a little in the background, but right now, I just don't mind! I'm too happy to mind it!

…In fact, I'm laughing a little myself! Mr. Wizard just smiles, though, and holds his hand out to help me get up. I'mma gladly take it, of course! As I slowly get up, I thank him, and he responds with a little nod. I'm a little sad once I take a quick look at the clock on one of the walls, though…It's already half-past one!

"Ack!" I cry, "I can't believe it's almost two o' clock already!"

Mr. Wizard looks back at the clock, too, and stares at it for a few seconds.

"Ah…I see…So…you'll be going, then…?" he says, almost a little sad-like… (O-oh, no! I didn't mean to make him sad again…!)

"Yeah…" I nod sadly, "My cows are too lazy to feed themselves dinner, so I gotta go back…"

Mr. Wizard nods softly, to let me know he understands.

…But I grab both of his hands and stare him right in the eyes!

"But, um, don't you worry, Mr. Wizard!" I cheer (kind of nervously, though…), "I, um…I'm gonna visit you every day from now on! We can talk about stuff, and we can tell each other secrets, or we can just hang out and have coffee or something! We're bestest buddies and all, so we've always gotta know what's happening with one another as much as we can!"

Heehee, both our faces are kind of red after I'm done with that, (Geez, how many times has my face turned all red today?!), but I'm glad to hear Mr. Wizard's response:

"…Promise…?"

"It's a promise!" I nod wholeheartedly and smile, "I'll even bring the coffee tomorrow!"

After that, the two of us say our newfound bestest-buddy-style goodbyes, and I start to make my way out of Mr. Wizard's house. I'm all set to go and I really can't wait for tomorrow; when I come in here tomorrow it's gonna be the start of the coolest friendship since sliced bread and plastic packaging! (Wait a second…our friendship was always the coolest thing since sliced bread and plastic packaging, what am I talking about?)

But anyways, I'm on my way out--

"…Ah, wait…Wakuko..."

Oh! Never mind, then~. Still in.

"Hm? What is it, Mr. Wizard?"

"Ah…tomorrow is…the Moon Viewing festival…in Caval Meadow…It's a nice sight…and--"

"Wait, that thing really does exist?!" I ask, dumbfounded, "I thought the mayor was lying!" (Seriously, the guy was drunk when he told me about it! How was I supposed to know if he was telling the truth?)

Mr. Wizard shakes his head and smiles, but then his face gets all red again as he explains it to me!

"It…exists…I, ah…I was wondering if…we could watch the moon…together…"

Wh-wh-wh-what?! He wants to watch the moon…W-w-w-with m-m-me?! U-uahh! I…I dunno what to say!

…Wait a minute! He's my bestest buddy! Of course I know what I'm gonna say!

"Of course!" I cheer, "We'll go together!"

Mr. Wizard nods and tells me he'll meet me at the Moon Viewing hill at seven tomorrow! Oh, boy! This is gonna be the best Moon Viewing ever! (Er, wait, this is the only one I've ever been to…)

I make another promise to be at the Moon Viewing Hill on time, and then the two of us (actually) say our goodbyes! I told him I'd come back tomorrow morning, too, as per my new bestest buddy schedule~. After that I give him one more hug and dash back out into Harmonica Town, keeping my promises close! (Heehee, I sound like a book or something.)

As I'm running back down the main road, I jump over all the puddles so I don't trip over them! I tell Finny that we gotta be careful!

"Well, you're definitely in better spirits than this morning, Wakuko!" I hear Finny chirp. I can't help but nod and agree with him!

"Heehee, of course! Now that Mr. Wizard's my bestest buddy in the whole wide world, we're gonna get to be together all the time! I'm really, really happy!"

"See?" Finny replies, "I knew it was a good idea to see him again!"

"Yeah, well I was going to…eventually!" I argue, "I just got scared every time I tried!"

"Well, now you don't have to be! Things are a-okay~!"

I nod happily again and dash off through the bridge to my farm and Caval Meadow—While I'm running, I sort of wonder about everything that Finny and my friends have told me again. Maybe when Mai said 'crush' she meant the feeling I got whenever I tried talking to Mr. Wizard! My lungs always felt like they were crushed!

…No, that's not it…

Maybe when Finny said 'like like' he meant…Something more than best buddy-ness? Does that even make sense?! I mean, I've never heard of anything above best buddy-ness…Mommy would have told me, otherwise!

…No, that's not it, either…

Oh, well! I'll figure everything out in time, I guess! I'll figure it out for me and for Mr. Wizard!

When I think that, I eventually come to realize:

The everyday magic that many people can see, the one that I thought of…Of course I can see it! Mr. Wizard can see it, too! We all see it…don't we?

It's friendship!

* * *

I love the end of this. XD Wakuko's so silly.

But, uh, yeah! That's it! It's like…over! Done! All that stuff! (Well,_ this_ story is, anyway...)

I forget if I mentioned this or not (and I'm honestly too lazy to check again because it's midnight and I'm really sleepy), but this story has a longfic sequel that's currently in progress called "Irregular Orbit"! Er, it's going through some technical difficulties as of now, but if you'd like to get a head start on "Irregular Orbit" before I post it here, feel free to check the fanfics section of the Ushi no Tane forums—the thread for the 'fic should be there!

Aaanyways, thanks to everyone who read and reviewed this story! I know it might be a little weird to get at first since WakuAni hasn't been released in the U.S. yet, but you're still awesome for reading this! :DDD

…yeah, I think I'm done. I hope to see you all for "Irregular Orbit"! Until next time, everyone~!

-SGP


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